🎬 Brace Yourself 😰

👋 Good morning! Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and welcome aboard the Dailies.

Whether you're a seasoned subscriber or a new arrival, we're thrilled to have you here. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we'll deliver the most important industry scoops directly to your inbox.

🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• 75th Emmy Awards

• ICYMI Critics Choice Awards Highlights

• Box Office Slump Incoming

• NFL Eyes ESPN

• Netflix’s Reign Challenged

• Last Looks: 👀 Bite-sized scoops on developing stories/projects

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Martini Shot 🍸

But first, let’s take a look at what happened at the box office this past weekend!

LAST WEEKEND’S
🎟️ DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN 🎟️

1. 🎶 Mean Girls: Paramount's musical remake shines with $28M, outperforming the original but trailing behind recent hits.

2. 🐝 The Beekeeper: MGM's thriller nets a strong $16.8M, surpassing some of Statham's recent films and buzzing past expectations overall.

3. 🍫 Wonka: Slides to $8.3M in its 5th week, reaching $176.1M total, mixed compared to similar musicals.

4. 💑 Anyone But You: Sony's rom-com dips to $6.9M, totaling $55.1M, charmingly surpassing recent genre peers.

5. 🦋 Migration: Universal's animation drops to $6.1M, coming in at $85.7M total, a mixed performance among animated titles.

6. 🌊 Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: Down to $5.2M, with $108.2M total, swimming ahead of some recent superheroes but not the original.

7. 🏊 Night Swim: Takes a -60% dive to $4.6M, struggling to match Blumhouse's typical horror success.

8. 🎬 Guntur Kaaram: Opens with a solid $4.1M, strong but not matching its studio's previous hits.

9. 🚣 The Boys in the Boat: Rows to $3.5M, totaling $39.3M, outpacing many sports dramas but not all.

10. 📖 The Book of Clarence: Debuts modestly with $2.5M, facing challenges in a limited release.

📺🏆 Emmys 2024 Tonight! The 75th Emmys will take place tonight at 8pm EST, hosted at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The Awards ceremony, which was pushed back four months due to last year’s actors’ and writers’ strikes, will encompass series that were broadcast between June of 2022 and May of 2023. Media dynasty drama 'Succession' is tipped for wins in both the drama and lead actor categories, while 'The Bear' is favored in the comedy category, despite debates over its genre classification. 'Beef' leads the limited series predictions, with many predicting wins for Steven Yeun and Ali Wong in their respective categories. The ceremony will air on Fox, and can be streamed on several streaming services such as Hulu + Live TV, and FuboTV.

🤔🏆 ICYMI Critics Choice Awards Highlights: The 2024 Critics Choice Awards presented a dazzling array of winners last night, with 'Oppenheimer' and 'Barbie' stealing the spotlight. Here's a quick rundown of the top highlights:

• ‘Oppenheimer’ snagged a whopping 8 awards, including the coveted Best Picture and Best Director for Christopher Nolan.

• Paul Giamatti clinched Best Actor for the ‘Holdovers’ repeating his Golden Globes success.

• Emma Stone won Best Actress for ‘Poor Things.’

• ‘Barbie,’ 2023’s box office darling, walked away with six wins including Best Comedy and Best Song for ‘I’m Just Ken.’

• 'Oppenheimer' led the film distributors with eight wins, while Netflix dominated the TV platform with eight victories.

• Netflix's 'Beef,' HBO's 'Succession,' and FX's 'The Bear' bagged top series honors.

• Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook from 'Succession' and Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri from 'The Bear' scored big in acting categories.

🍿📉 Possible 2024 Box Office Slump Incoming: The box office outlook for 2024 is grim, with analytics firm Gower Street predicting global grosses dropping to $31.5B, a 5% decrease from 2023. This downturn is largely due to a reduction in wide releases caused by industry strikes, leading to a significant gap in blockbuster films, especially in the early months of the year. Major studios like Disney have delayed releases, contributing to fewer major tentpoles and increasing the likelihood of further theater closures. The situation is compounded by the end of financial support for theaters negotiated during the pandemic, and the industry must adapt to changing audience preferences and the challenge of re-engaging viewers with theatrical experiences.

📺🏈 NFL Eyes Major Stake in ESPN Network: The NFL is in advanced discussions with ESPN for an equity stake in the network, potentially giving ESPN control over NFL Media assets like the NFL Network, RedZone, NFL.com, NFL Films, and NFL+. The deal, which requires input from team owners and players due to revenue sharing agreements, aligns with Disney's plans to launch ESPN as a direct-to-consumer service by 2025. Disney executives Bob Iger and Kevin Mayer are overseeing the transition, with Mayer suggesting a $30 monthly subscription as reasonable. If successful, this agreement would allow fans to stream NFL content on various devices, including phones, augmenting ESPN's current $2.6B deal for broadcasting NFL games.

🌐📉 Netflix's Reign Challenged: Netflix's long-standing market dominance is facing significant challenges. Analysis from Parrot Analytics reveals a decreasing trend in market concentration, especially in the U.S. This shift is attributed to the emergence of new platforms like Disney+ and Max, which have been gaining traction since their respective launches in late 2019 and mid-2020. While Netflix experienced a marginal increase in demand share towards the end of 2023, thanks to hits like ‘One Piece’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher,’ the overall trend indicates a more competitive streaming environment. The 'Other' category, which includes services like Bet+, iQIYI, and AMC+, has seen its demand share rise from 15% in 2021 to over 20% by the end of 2023, underscoring the growing presence of alternative streaming platforms and hinting at a more diversified future for the streaming industry.

Development 🗒️

• Stephanie Hsu stars in Peacock's new comedy series ‘Laid.’ (more)

• ‘The Witcher’ casts Laurence Fishburne in S4. (more)

• Annette Bening joins the cast of Maggie Gyllenhaal's Warner Bros. adaptation of the Frankenstein story, featuring Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Penélope Cruz, and Peter Sarsgaard. (more)

• Alicia Vikander joins Cate Blanchett in the ensemble comedy 'Rumours,' directed by Guy Maddin, which has been acquired by Bleecker Street for U.S. release. (more)

• David O. Russell is set to direct Selena Gomez in a biopic about Linda Ronstadt. (more)

• David Gordon Green has left ‘The Exorcist: Deceiver.’ (more)

• Paramount is developing ‘Top Gun 3,’ with ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ co-writer Ehren Kruger working on the script. (more)

• Wes Anderson is set to direct a new feature starring Bill Murray, Michael Cera, and Benicio Del Toro, with the script co-written by Anderson and Roman Coppola. (more)

• John Krasinski and Natalie Portman are set to star in Guy Ritchie’s ‘Fountain of Youth’ for Apple and Skydance. (more)

• A ‘Young Sheldon’ spinoff is in the works at CBS. (more)

• Jonathan Majors has been dropped from the Dennis Rodman movie '48 Hours in Vegas,' with Lionsgate no longer backing the project. (more)

• R.L. Stine confirms that a new ‘Fear Street’ film is in the works at Netflix. (more)

• Cate Blanchett reunites with director Jim Jarmusch for his upcoming film ‘Father Mother Sister Brother.’ (more)

• Apple TV+ and Major League Soccer announce an exclusive all-access docuseries on the 2024 MLS season. (more)

• Isabela Merced joins the cast of ‘Last of Us’ S2. (more)

• FX orders Nick Kroll-produced comedy ‘Snowflakes.’ (more)

• 'The White Lotus' S3 on HBO expands its cast with Miloš Biković, Christian Friedel, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, and Shalini Peiris. (more)

✅ Renewed & Canceled ❌

• ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ is renewed for S5 on CBS. (more)

• ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’ is renewed for S3 by the Fox Television Stations and Hearst Television. (more)

Business 🤝

• Al Gore is leaving Apple's board after 21 years due to mandatory retirement age, and Apple CEO Tim Cook's pay dropped 36% in 2023 following shareholder pressure. (more)

• Amazon's Audible is laying off 5% of its workforce following job cuts in Amazon's Prime Video and MGM Studios divisions. (more)

• Disney's Pixar Animation Studios is bracing for potential layoffs this year, possibly affecting up to 20% of its 1,300 workforce. (more)

• Canal+ Group gains anti-trust approval with conditions to acquire OCS and Orange Studio, key players in French film industry pre-financing. (more)

Other News 🚨

• Universal Music Group is reportedly planning significant layoffs in its recorded music division amidst a broader trend of cost-cutting in the media and tech sectors. (more)

• Animation workers at Disney's Traveling Lab have successfully voted to join the Animation Guild. (more)

• Mia Goth and A24 face a lawsuit from a background extra who alleges he was deliberately kicked in the head by Goth during the filming of 'MaXXXine.’ (more)