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.
Jimmy Donaldson The influencer known as MrBeast dethrones rival PewDiePie as YouTube’s most subscribed-to creator with 112 million followers, surpassing the Swedish star’s 111 million. Bob Chapek As Wall Street digests Disney’s profit guidance, some analysts cut price targets on linear TV’s decline and question how the CEO can get streaming in the black. Drake/21 Savage The artists’ collaborative album Her Loss tops the Billboard 200 with 513.5 million streams in the week ending Nov. 10, per Luminate data. Sam Bankman-Fried The story of the FTX founder’s travails becomes a hot commodity as Vice Media and The Information, nonfiction studio XTR and author Michael Lewis shop projects. Showbiz Stocks $29.09 (+1.3%) FOX CORP. (FOX) The NFL and the World Cup, combined with Georgia’s Senate runoff, should give Fox a strong…
On Oct. 31, the Department of Justice antitrust division landed a major victory when a federal judge blocked Penguin Random House’s $2.175 billion bid to buy rival Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global. After legal wrangling in a trial closely monitored by Hollywood, U.S. District Judge Florence Pan found that combining two of the world’s largest book publishers would hurt competition for best-selling books, noting that the “merged entity would have a 49 percent market share, more than twice that of its closest competitor.” The ruling marks a triumph for a rejuvenated DOJ antitrust division after decades of lax enforcement — and a troubling sign for Hollywood moguls contemplating mergers. “Anybody who is looking to do sizable M&As in the media sector where you’re going to lose a player should…
As Netflix emerged, we all applauded the innovation it brought. For creators and talent, it was new and refreshing. No advertising to interrupt the flow of the programs. Full-season orders to allow you to tell a complete story. No ratings or opening box office to torment. But all of this came with a significant trade-off: premium up-front fees for creators in place of true ownership and participation in the long-term upside of success. The rest of the streamers followed suit. They, too, insisted on owning 100 percent, and it seemed a fair bargain. Create content for an ad-free, exclusive global platform like Amazon and Apple, in perpetuity. Receive more up front to replace the upside that historically came from multiple revenue streams and windows, like syndication. But now the game…
They’re looking forcost savings.” That’s how one Paramount Global insider explained why CBS CEO George Cheeks would dismiss CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl and his top lieutenant, Thom Sherman, after the duo led the broadcast network for an impressive five-year run that featured hits including Ghosts and FBI. Put another way, Cheeks is making his mark on the first-place network after previously reshaping CBS News and Stations a year after he joined the former ViacomCBS to replace Joe Ianniello. Insiders described the mood at CBS as “really sad” after Kahl, a 26-year network veteran who followed former CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves over from Warner Bros. TV, was pushed out Nov. 16 with a “fair amount” of time remaining on his contract. “I thought Kelly was going to be buried…
In the end, Nexstar was paid $54 million to take The CW off of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s hands. Actually, that’s an oversimplification. In fact, Nexstar, led by CEO Perry Sook, was given its 75 percent stake in the network for free, but after factoring in its cash on hand, accounts receivable and accounts payable (and other liabilities), the local TV giant ended up with its $54 million gain “on bargain purchase,” reflecting just how seriously its former corporate owners were ready to move on. According to a THR analysis of the financial statements that were included in Nexstar’s latest quarterly filing with the SEC on Nov. 9, The CW had revenue of about $100 million per quarter in 2021-22, for an annual run rate of $370 million to…
BEST PICTURE Devotion The year’s other movie about military flyers featuring a supporting turn from Glen Powell had a special screening at WME on Nov. 14, with Powell, lead actor Jonathan Majors and director J.D. Dillard in attendance for a Q&A that was moderated by Courtney B. Vance. The Pale Blue Eye Director Scott Cooper and Christian Bale, who teamed up on Out of the Furnace and Hostiles, reunite in this entertaining flick, unveiled at a Nov. 16 industry screening — but the murder-mystery that Netflix will prioritize this season is Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. BEST ACTOR Brendan Fraser The Whale The GQ cover boy tells the magazine he’s committed to his Oscar campaign: “I owe it to myself. I owe it to the filmmakers. I owe it to…
