Showbiz Sandbox 587: How To Succeed on Broadway After a Global Pandemic

With this year’s Tony Awards having been doled out, the 29 shows currently running on Broadway are taking stock of what’s working, which ones should stick around and which should stop raising their curtains. At least 14 have announced closing dates or are expected to soon, including some big musical productions. Others are recasting their big stars. But hope springs eternal on Broadway as new plays and musicals gear up to light up the Great White Way.

Meanwhile, “Top Gun: Maverick” has crossed into the billion dollar club making it the first film in Tom Cruise’s career to hit such a milestone. The actor showed up at CineEurope last week for a bit of a victory lap. We’ll bring you all the latest news from the event.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the future of K-Pop superstars, BTS, the winners of this year’s BET awards and Apple’s big bet on sports broadcasting.

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Showbiz Sandbox 394: A Golden Globes Ceremony With Perfect Timing

Amid a sea of black dresses and black tie Hollywood held its first big annual event of the #metoo age as the Golden Globes became a platform for the industry to speak out on gender inequality. The highlight of the evening came when Oprah Winfrey delivered a rousing acceptance speech for an honorary award that had everyone wondering whether she plans on running for president in 2020.

Meanwhile, estimated financials for 2017 are being tallied and it looks as if the global box office set new highs, thanks in part to the Chinese market which is still rising sharply. In North America however, attendance reached a low that hasn’t been seen in decades generating receipts that declined only slightly.

And just as a new wave of lawsuits threaten to swamp Spotify, the music streaming service looks to cash in with one of the largest direct public offerings ever. Apple music is still trying to catch up to Spotify’s 70 million paying subscribers as Jimmy Iovine, one of their key executives, is reportedly stepping down this summer.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Broadway’s record breaking year, Lady Gaga heads to Las Vegas and John Legend becomes a savior.

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Showbiz Sandbox 393: Disney Acquisition of Fox Underscores Hollywood’s Digital Transition

In one of the largest deals Hollywood has ever seen, the Walt Disney Company announced it had agreed to buy most of 21st Century Fox in a transaction valued at $66.1 billion. Disney will scoop up Fox assets that include 20th Century Fox film and TV studios, 300 cable channels, 22 regional sports networks, control over the Hulu streaming service and a stake in Sky. Fox will keep its news, sports and broadcast networks, as well as its publishing empire.

The move underscores how movie studios have become an intellectual property business where scale matters. Rupert Murdoch feared Fox never scaled properly to compete in the age of digital on-demand consumption of content and that his company was at the peak of its value. Selling a portion of his empire also avoids a family power struggle over who would take control of the company once he steps down.

Meanwhile, the first award nominations from a guild have arrived courtesy of the Screen Actors Guild. And the Library of Congress added 25 new works to the National Film Registry, including fiction and documentaries, features and shorts. We’ll discuss what significant works they’ve enshrined.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the FCC officially ditches net neutrality regulation, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces this year’s entries and why Norway is switching off FM radio.

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Showbiz Sandbox 27: That’s It For “This Is It”

This week we begin with Michael Giltz and Karen Woodward disagreeing over “This Is It,” the Michael Jackson documentary/concert film/eulogy. Is the film recommendable? Not according to the box office numbers, where the film brought in a disappointing $23 million. But since the film made $103 million worldwide J. Sperling Reich wanted to serve Michael some crow pie.

If you don’t want to see “This Is It,” maybe you’ll see “Avatar”? The second trailer for the highly anticipated film was released this week, after the first one bombed. The new trailer looks like this movie is actually about something. How about “Precious”? Sperling and Michael disagree over whether this movie is a heart tugging Oscar winner or shallow drivel.

Speaking of shallow, did Jeffrey Katzenberg really add anything new to the future of entertainment conversation in his recent Business Week interview? Seems more like a politician staying message then a mogul adding to the dialogue. Read more

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