Showbiz Sandbox 654: CinemaCon Promotes A Bright Future for Movie Theatres
April 16, 2024
CinemaCon, the annual gathering of cinema operators in Las Vegas, was filled with anxiety this year thanks to a lack of wide releases due to the recent labor strikes. However, most Hollywood studios showed up with a few movie stars to hawk an increasing number of big titles due later in the year and into 2025. As well, technology companies introduced some exciting new advances in projection and image quality. In all, the conference pointed toward better days ahead for movie theaters.
In even better news, it looks as if the many behind-the-scenes craft people who work on films and television shows may not go on strike like the writers and actors did last year. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) appears to be having very positive negotiations with Alliance of Motion Picture Television Producers on a new contract.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how Disney won its shareholder battle, the winners of this year’s Writers Guild Awards and CBS whips up a new streaming news service.
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Showbiz Sandbox 608: The Television Landscape Is Changing FAST
February 22, 2023
Major television networks, cable channels and even streamers are all reeling from all of the changes the industry has been undergoing recently. New shows are being canceled before they air. Others disappear after only a single season with all their episodes yanked from streaming libraries. Ratings for linear and cable are way down causing every stakeholder to earn less money from advertising and carriage fees.
All of this has caused the industry to get super excited by FAST – Free Ad Supported TV. These are streaming platforms built around existing properties like “Westworld” or original series like “Die Hart” which can be watched on-demand, only with ads peppered in. Annoying perhaps if you subscribe to HBO Max and expected to be able to binge shows that are no longer available on the platform.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Roald Dahl’s books are being updated, box office in India rebounds nicely in 2022 and the big winners at this year’s BAFTAs.
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Showbiz Sandbox 536: Blockbuster Box Office Begins Pandemic Recovery
April 14, 2021
After remaining dormant for most of the past year “Godzilla vs. Kong” revived the box office with the best opening weekend since the COVID-19 pandemic bega. The monster movie has taken in over $350 million globally despite being available on HBO Max. in $38 million despite being available on HBO Max. Does this mean big blockbuster movies can open day-and-date and score big even if they’re available online via a streamer? Uh, no.
Meanwhile, politics is stressing out Hollywood. Whether it’s human rights issues in China or voting rights issues in Georgia, Hollywood is not happy about being forced to take sides.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including producer Scott Rudin being exposed as a bully after decades of bad behavior, “Game of Thrones” may be headed to Broadway and singer Lil Nas X stirs up some controversy with his latest chart topper.
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Showbiz Sandbox 517: Movie Theaters Brace For A Dark Winter
November 10, 2020
With a second wave of COVID sweeping through Europe, cinemas in England, France and Germany have begun to shut down. Can movie theaters in North America and elsewhere soon follow their lead as infection rates rise? Even if cinemas remain open, they won’t have many new movies to show with studios moving major releases into next year.
As major cinema chains around the world report cratering third-quarter revenue they have begun to accept they may have to play titles with shorter release windows, at least until the pandemic is over. This has led to the National Association of Theatre Owners saying that if Congress doesn’t pass a relief bill soon, some 70% of cinemas in North America will declare bankruptcy or go out of business entirely.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Jay-Z is looking to get high on his own supply, Johnny Depp gets dumped from “Fantastic Beasts” and Netflix goes linear (at least in France).
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Showbiz Sandbox 461: A Crazy Example of Hollywood’s Gender Pay Gap
September 9, 2019
Pay disparity based on gender is not a new thing in the entertainment industry, especially in the movie business. History is rife with examples where leading men got paid multiples more than their leading ladies. However, gender pay gaps behind the camera aren’t often publicized. That wasn’t the case when Adele Lim, the co-writer of “Crazy Rich Asians” found out how much more her male co-writer was being paid for the sequels, she went public.
The good news according to a new study is that in front of the camera Hollywood is becoming more diverse. Women and people of color are being cast more than ever with 39 out of the top 100 films in 2018 featuring a female lead. Last year also marked a 12-year high for minorities being given speaking roles.
Meanwhile, advertisers and television networks are concerning themselves with a different set of numbers; viewership ratings. For the first time ever, Nielsen is counting all the people who watch TV in bars, airports and hotel lounges. Ratings will surely go up for some big categories such as sports. But will ad rates go up too?
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why author Walter Mosley quit his “Star Trek: Discovery” writers gig, music sales are up for the year and, despite lots of new competition, Netflix looks poised to maintain its dominance of the streaming market.
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Showbiz Sandbox 454: Summer Box Office Is Heating Up
July 8, 2019
It was the Fourth of July in the United States which is often a slow news time for the entertainment industry. Except for when it comes to the box office which looks to finally be picking up slightly thanks to sequels such as “Toy Story 4” and “Spider-Man: Far from Home.” Though the box office continues to trail behind last year’s record-breaking tally there are still plenty of big releases to come.
That includes at least one more live-action remake of a classic Disney film; “The Lion King.” That will be the third such Disney release this year. Is the company saturating the market with live-action remakes of its own classic films?
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Lionsgate is slowing down its theme park plans, Mad Magazine will stop being published and Rolling Stone launches its own music charts.
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Showbiz Sandbox 386: Keeping Up With Hollywood Sex Scandals Becomes A Full Time Job
October 30, 2017
October has been a particularly horrific month for Hollywood this year, and not just because of the run up to Halloween. After a record setting September, North American box office dropped to a ten year low in October as major releases failed to attract audiences. Then there was the flood of industry-wide sexual harassment claims, an ongoing story with no end in sight.
What started with egregious allegations against indie-mogul Harvey Weinstein has led to actors and actresses coming forward with more stories of harassment, including one against two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, who has been accused of making sexual overtures to a 14-year-old boy over 30 years ago.
Meanwhile, the publishing industry has some good news about book sales and we’ll explain why lists announcing the best books of 2017 have already been compiled by trade publications, two months before the year is over.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how the Disney Channel is introducing a gay storyline, a virtual reality project wins a special Oscar and the latest Star Trek series will get a second season.
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Showbiz Sandbox 381: Telluride and Toronto Continue To Shape Awards Season
September 18, 2017
Each year the Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals are held so closely together their programming often overlaps as each vies to land titles that will be in the running for major awards (read: Oscars). Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s editor at large, has just returned from Telluride and Toronto and she fills us in on all the festival season favorites.
While Thompson was in Toronto enjoying movies like “The Shape of Water” from director Guillermo del Toro, film buyers were struggling to find anything to pick up. There was a general sense that all the worthwhile titles had been cherry picked before the festival even began.
Meanwhile the Emmy Awards were held over the weekend honoring the best television from the past year. At this year’s ceremony a disruptive streaming video provider made a big splash, though not the one everyone expected. Hulu took home the Best Drama Emmy for “The Handmaid’s Tale”, despite Netflix having three shows nominated in the category.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the head of NBC admitting most of its primetime viewership is not watched live, George R. R. Martin’s new TV series and MoviePass surpsasses 400,000 subscribers in under a month.
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Showbiz Sandbox 366: Shifting TV Viewership is Affecting Ratings, Ad Sales and Future Programming Decisions
May 15, 2017
All the major television networks are preparing their dog-and-pony shows for advertisers at this year’s upfront presentations as they look to sell $9 billion worth of commercial time for the upcoming season. However with viewership continuing to become more fractured, the industry has grown concerned that falling ratings over the past year will lead to lower ad sales. Which raises the question about just how accurate audience measurement is these days.
Networks have begun taking measures to shore up potentially weaker ad sales by demanding harder bargains from production companies, owning more of their own series and making untold fortunes internationally with certain shows. They’re also dabbling more and more with live television specials including musicals such as “A Christmas Story”.
The 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will also begin this week, though not without some controversy over two Netflix titles screening in competition, but not in French movie theaters. This has led Cannes to create a new rule beginning in 2018 that any film selected for the festival must have a theatrical release in France.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why Spotify might abandon plans for its IPO in lieu of a direct list o the stock market, Cheryl Boone Isaacs decides not to run for another term as head of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Kelly Clarkson joins “The Voice” just as ABC announces the return of “American Idol.”
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Showbiz Sandbox 342: Box Office Growth in China Begins to Fizzle
October 31, 2016
Hollywood has been talking up China’s explosive box office growth for years and the country is forecast to surpass North America as the largest movie market in the world as early as next year. However, the growth in China is slowing with ticket sales down 10% this year from last year’s figures. Ryan Faughnder, a staff writer with the Los Angeles Times, stops by to explain some of the reasons for the decline and what it means for major studios.
Faughnder also gives us the lowdown on how some studios, specifically Lionsgate, are turning to YouTube stars in search of their next big hit. Warner Bros. and Disney have similar efforts underway, though none have found the secret to success in transforming online talent into mainstream stars.
Meanwhile politicians and investment analysts have publicly expressed their concern over AT&T’s acquisition of TimeWarner. Some have gone so far as to say the deal can lead to “a whole bunch of different horribles for consumers”. For their part, AT&T is trying to assuage fears by moving head with its virtual cable plan.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why the creator of “Mad Men” signed with Amazon for his next series, why viewership of two popular sports has decreased significantly and how the pop group ABBA is reuniting for a live performance… sort of.
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