Showbiz Sandbox 428: Why Everyone Is Raving About “Red Dead Redemption 2”

While there may still be some debate over whether video games are works of art, there is no doubting their earning potential. This was proven yet again when the game “Red Dead Redemption 2” earned a whopping $725 million in global retail sales after its first three days. And with glowing reviews haling it as a new gold standard for video games, and online components yet to be released, it’s poised to rake in much more.

Meanwhile, theatrical box office in North America is also looking profitable. In fact, 2018 may end with record setting grosses (if not attendance), and it’s all due to Hollywood releasing blockbuster movies outside the usual summer and holiday season.

In China, movie stars continue to fess up to how much money they have avoided paying taxes on. The latest is Chow Yun Fat who took his cue from the government and decided now was a good time to announce he’d be giving away his fortune, estimated at more than $700 million.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Rihanna turned down the Super Bowl halftime show, Drake topples another Billboard chart record and why Broadway is skewing a little younger.

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Goldman Sachs Is Drawn Into Prosecution of Vast Financial Fraud
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/01/business/goldman-sachs-malaysia-investment-fund.html

Comscore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of November 4, 2018
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-november-4-2018-300743616.html

Box-Office Boon: The Secret Behind a Record 2018 Haul
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-secret-behind-a-record-2018-haul-1152645

Movie Ticket Prices Drop Slightly to $8.83 for Third Quarter
https://variety.com/2018/film/news/movie-ticket-prices-down-2018-q3-1202980806/

Most Movies Since 1968 Are Rated R, MPAA Study Finds
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/movies-1968-are-rated-r-mpaa-study-finds-1155796

Exhibitors at Dubai Forum Show No Signs of Pulling Back From Saudi Arabia
https://variety.com/2018/film/news/exhibitors-dubai-forum-saudi-arabia-jamal-khashoggi-killing-1203009133/

China Founds Trademark Office to Protect Domestic Brands
http://chinafilminsider.com/china-founds-trademark-office-to-protect-domestic-brands

Did China Really Create a New Trademark Office?
http://chinafilminsider.com/did-china-really-create-a-new-trademark-office/

Hong Kong Star Chow Yun-fat to Donate All His Fortune to Charity
http://chinafilminsider.com/headlines-from-china-aquaman-to-release-in-china-two-weeks-early/

MoviePass Parent Target of Fraud Probe by NY Attorney General
https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/moviepass-helios-matheson-fraud-probe-ny-attorney-general-1202984150/

MoviePass Parent to Spin Off Cinema Subscription Service
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/moviepass-parent-confirms-ipo-plans-cinema-subscription-service-1154382

Judy Blume Grants ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ Screen Rights To James L. Brooks & Kelly Fremon Craig
https://deadline.com/2018/10/judy-blume-movie-are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret-james-l-brooks-kelly-fremon-craig-the-edge-of-seventeen-1202482634/

Megyn Kelly No Longer at CAA (Exclusive)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/megyn-kelly-dropped-by-caa-1154923

NBC Airs ‘Megyn Kelly Today’ Repeat as Tensions With Anchor Rise
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/nbc-news-megyn-kelly-today-repeat-1202993856/

Megyn Kelly Blunder Raises Questions About Viability of Her NBC Show
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/megyn-kelly-blackface-nbc-news-today-advertising-1202992386/

NBC News Officially Cancels ‘Megyn Kelly Today’
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbc-news-officially-cancels-megyn-kelly-today-1155422

Popular Broadway Bookstore to Close After Rent Hike
https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/popular-broadway-bookstore-close-after-rent-hike

Last Hong Kong Bookshop Selling Titles Banned in China Shuts
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/31/a-chapter-closes-last-hong-kong-bookshop-selling-titles-banned-in-china-shuts

Southampton Bookshop Enlists Human Chain to Move to New Store
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/29/southampton-bookshop-october-books-enlists-human-chain-to-move-to-new-store

In Counterclaim, B&N Says Former CEO ‘Sabotaged’ Sale; Sexually Harassed Multiple Women
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/78460-in-counterclaim-b-n-says-former-ceo-sabotaged-sale-sexually-harassed-multiple-women.html

Booksellers Protest Amazon Site’s Move to Drop Stores From Certain Countries
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/technology/abebooks-amazon-protest-booksellers.html

Tiny Books Fit in One Hand. Will They Change the Way We Read?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/business/mini-books-pocket-john-green.html

Rihanna Rejected Super Bowl Halftime Show in Support of Colin Kaepernick
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rihanna-super-bowl-halftime-show-colin-kaepernick-744650/

Kobe Bryant Launches Fantasy YA Book Series in Bid to Grow Multimedia Franchises
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kobe-bryant-launches-ya-book-series-grow-multimedia-franchises-1156927

Spotify Can’t Keep Losing More Than $1 Billion a Year. Can Podcasts Rescue Its Business Model?
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/can-podcasts-rescue-spotify-business-model-749970/

The Spectacular Existential Crisis of Pandora
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/pandora-media-radio-siriusxm-and-crisis-725663/

Los Angeles Film Festival Pulling Plug After 18 Years
https://variety.com/2018/film/news/los-angeles-film-festival-ending-1203016232/

Netflix Adds 7 Million Subscribers, Beats Third-Quarter Earnings Expectations
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-adds-7-million-subscribers-beats-third-quarter-earnings-expectations-1152801

‘Roma’ Drives Netflix to Break Its Own Rules About Theatrical Release
https://www.indiewire.com/2018/10/roma-netflix-rules-theatrical-release-oscars-1202016876/

Drake Scores 12th Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 of 2018, Passing The Beatles for the Most in a Single Year
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8481061/drake-12th-hot-100-top-10-2018-breaks-beatles-record

Universal Music Group Holds Entire Top Six Albums on Billboard 200 Chart
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8480941/universal-music-group-top-six-albums-billboard-200-chart

Broadway League Report Finds Audience Getting Younger, With More Kids And Teens Attending Shows
https://deadline.com/2018/10/broadway-league-audience-getting-younger-more-kids-and-teens-attending-shows-report-1202485696

A Musical You’ve (Probably) Never Heard of Just Re-wrote the Rules of Event Cinema
https://celluloidjunkie.com/2018/10/25/a-musical-youve-probably-never-heard-of-just-rewrote-the-rules-of-event-cinema/

‘Call of Duty: Black Ops IV’ Tops $500 Million Sold, Ties ‘Call of Duty: WWII’
https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/call-of-duty-black-ops-4-sales-1202984125/

Red Dead Redemption 2 Review – Gripping Western is a Near Miracle
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/oct/25/red-dead-redemption-2-review-western-playstation-xbox-rockstar

Red Dead Redemption 2 Grosses Over $700 Million In Biggest Entertainment Opening Weekend of All Time
https://gamingbolt.com/red-dead-redemption-2-grosses-over-700-million-in-biggest-entertainment-opening-weekend-of-all-time