The all-new Hollywood Reporter offers unprecedented access to the people, studios, networks and agencies that create the magic in Hollywood. Published weekly, the oversized format includes exceptional photography and rich features.
When Bob Iger revealed Feb. 25 that he was resigning as Disney CEO and moving into the role of executive chairman, he said he would focus on “getting everything right creatively,” calling it the company’s “biggest priority.” One division where Iger will spend much of that time is the streaming service Disney+. After launching with a bang Nov. 12 and shooting past 28 million subscribers in three months thanks to its rich library and Star Wars series The Mandalorian, Disney+ is grappling with a dearth of original product aimed at a wider audience beyond kids happy to watch Moana or Frozen on repeat. Disney+ has more than 50 scripted shows and some 50 unscripted shows in development, a source tells THR, and is set to release about 35 originals in…
Dawn Hudson In a show of confidence despite dipping Oscar ratings, the film Academy extends the contract of its longtime CEO through May 2023. Tavis Smiley PBS wins a $1.5 million trial verdict on its claim that the former late-night host breached a morals clause when he was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017. Richard Price HBO’s The Outsider showrunner averages 9 million-plus viewers through nine episodes as its March 8 finale sees an even bigger tune-in. Vince McMahon The XFL owner’s bet to revive spring football dims as weekly ratings fall from 3.1 million for its Feb. 8 launch to less than 1 million a month later. Showbiz Stocks $364.13 (-3.5%) NETFLIX (NFLX) Despite suggestions that the streamer could benefit from the coronavirus outbreak as more Americans stay home,…
Three years ago, as Snap Inc. went public, NBCUniversal revealed that it had invested $500 million in the social networking platform. Then-CEO Steve Burke wrote a note to staff highlighting the Snap stake and similar investments in BuzzFeed and Vox Media: “We have become a better, more digitally focused company as a result.” In the digital space, three years may as well be an eternity. Since then, NBCUniversal acquired Sky in a $39 billion deal in April, increasing its debt load, and has committed more than $2 billion to launch its own streaming service, Peacock. With those obligations, liquidity can outweigh longterm ambitions. A Jan. 31 regulatory filing by parent Comcast disclosed that it had sold its entire Snap stake. The company recorded a $293 million gain on the sale…
Source: Theater stocks fall from Jan. 2 to March 9, via Marketwatch. Suddenly, this year’s box office may hinge far less on Hollywood’s film slate than on whether the coronavirus keeps moviegoers out of theaters. Investors, already bearish over film exhibitors battling Netflix, have hammered cinema stocks over widening worries that people will get out of the habit of going to the movies and, more than ever, consume their entertainment at home. Analysts see sharp drops in share price value compared to a year-to-date 15 percent decline in the broad-based S&P 500 stock index. “I believe this is mainly being driven by the unknown level of impact that COVID-19 could have on moviegoing trends,” says B. Riley analyst Eric Wold. The chains have so far insisted that domestic demand for…
Universal’s Monsterverse, left for dead after the middling box office returns of 2017’s The Mummy, is now back on track. Just don’t call it a Monsterverse this time. On the heels of The Invisible Man’s No. 1 opening Feb. 28 and $98.3 million haul so far, Universal is taking steps to revive its fabled stable of classic monsters for the big screen. But the new batch of films will be stand-alone, moderately budgeted efforts rather than big swings within an interconnected movie universe. The latest: a new Dracula feature that Karyn Kusama (Destroyer) is writing and will direct, THR has learned. Jason Blum’s Blumhouse, which helped kickstart the new monster line by making Invisible Man for only $7 million, is in the midst of setting up the vampire thriller and…
After the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018, Hollywood publicly shunned money from Saudi Arabia. But the kingdom quietly has been pitching showbiz investments. A source close to Warner Music Group owner Len Blavatnik tells THR that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has offered to take a $750 million-plus stake in the record label, which may be valued in a public offering at upward of $12.5 billion. (On March 2, WMG put its IPO plans on hold because of market volatility.) Reps for the PIF, which recently hired a former McKinsey & Co. consultant to oversee investments for the $300 billion fund, declined to comment. Tom Barrack’s Los Angeles-based Colony Capital, which once owned Miramax, has engaged with the PIF too. In August, it began exploring a deal…
