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👋 Good morning! The ballet world owes Timothée Chalamet a fruit basket. His comments about not wanting to work in art forms where "no one cares about this anymore" drew a swift internet pile-on during his 'Marty Supreme' press tour, but Britain's Royal Ballet and Opera ran with it. Their response (a supercut set to “no one cares about this anymore”) went viral, and more importantly, ticket sales got an immediate boost. They even offered a promo code: TIMOTHEE. Royal Ballet and Opera chief Alex Beard's official statement on the matter: "Cheers, Timmy." The Royal Opera House should just put Chalamet on retainer to insult them quarterly.
Welcome back to The Dailies. We’ve got your midweek download on the business of Hollywood. Let's get into it. 👇
CINEMACON
🍿 Two days of CinemaCon are in the books…
Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy onstage at CinemaCon 2026. (David Becker/Getty Images)
CinemaCon is halfway done at Caesars Palace, with Sony, Warner Bros., and a handful of indie distributors in the rearview. Universal, Amazon MGM, Paramount, and Disney are still to come. ICYMI, Sony kicked things off Monday:
Film chief Tom Rothman told exhibitors to cut pre-show ads ("get off the ad crack"), enforce longer windows, and lower ticket prices.
First footage from Aaron Sorkin’s 'The Social Reckoning' (Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg), 'Jumanji: Open World' trailer, early 'Beyond the Spider-Verse' footage, and Zach Cregger's 'Resident Evil' teaser.
An R-rated animated 'Bloodborne' movie announcement had half the room cheering and the other half quietly opening a new Google tab.
And Warner Bros. came loaded last night…
WB film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy did not say the words “Paramount merger” once, instead pointing to slate growth: six releases in 2022, 14 this year, 18 planned for 2027.
'Dune: Part Three' showed a 7-minute opening scene with Denis Villeneuve, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Jason Momoa all onstage. Already some chatter that 'Avengers: Doomsday' should be worried about sharing a December release date.
J.J. Abrams previewed 'The Great Beyond' (Glen Powell, Jenna Ortega), his first directing gig since 'Rise of Skywalker.'
Tom Cruise showed up to present 'Digger,' an Alejandro Iñárritu dark comedy about an oil magnate who triggers the apocalypse. First real details since last year's cryptic teaser.
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman showed up for 'Practical Magic 2,' Zach Cregger announced a new sci-fi film 'The Flood' with Amblin, and 'Supergirl' got extended footage.
Also of note…
Netflix's Ted Sarandos quietly met with AMC, Regal, and Cinema United heads about theatrical. Cinema United CEO Michael O'Leary called it "constructive," which is exec-speak for "nice chat, no commitments."
MPA chief Charles Rivkin said the words “federal film tax incentive” out loud onstage. Studios, guilds, and Trump's Hollywood Ambassadors are apparently all lobbying for it.
CLOSEUP
✉️ 2,000 A-listers just piled onto the merger fight…
Damon Lindelof, Florence Pugh, J.J. Abrams, and Denis Villeneuve
Over 2,000 Hollywood creators have signed an open letter expressing "unequivocal opposition" to Paramount's $111B acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The signatory list reads like someone ctrl+A'd the IMDb Star Meter: Bryan Cranston, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Stewart, Pedro Pascal, Florence Pugh, Denis Villeneuve, J.J. Abrams, David Fincher, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, among others. The letter launched Monday with around 1,000 signatures and doubled within 24 hours.
The arguments are familiar by now: they say the deal would shrink the number of major U.S. studios to four, meaning fewer productions, fewer jobs, and less choice for audiences. Notably, a lot of the people who signed have active deals at one or both studios:
J.J. Abrams has a deal at Warners through Bad Robot.
Denis Villeneuve has 'Dune 3' coming through the studio.
Damon Lindelof is under an overall deal at HBO.
Jason Bateman is starring in HBO's 'DTF St. Louis,' and Noah Wyle stars in HBO's 'The Pitt.'
Lindelof took to Instagram to explain why he signed, saying he was "afraid" of retaliation but did it anyway for the sake of below-the-line workers. He said he actually knows Ellison, found him "bright, ambitious and passionate," but signed anyway because "Hollywood is a blue-collar town" full of grips, gaffers, drivers, and caterers who stand to lose the most. "They're all about to get f*cked," he wrote. "Hollywood mergers mean fewer movies and fewer TV shows and that means fewer jobs."
Paramount pushed back, reaffirming its pledge to release at least 30 theatrical films per year and saying the merger would create "more avenues" for creators, not fewer. And the deal does have at least one famous friend: James Cameron, never one to shy away from a contrarian position, says he backs it, calling Ellison "the right man for the job to run a major studio."
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WIDESHOT
🎬 Clockwork, Disney layoffs, and AMC on TikTok…
Sean Baker (Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)
🕰️ Warner Bros. hard-launched its specialty label last night. At CinemaCon, the studio unveiled Clockwork, a new division led by former Neon CMO Christian Parkes (the guy behind the 'Parasite,' 'Anora,' and 'Longlegs' campaigns). The label was announced back in December but went unnamed until now. Its first acquisition: 'Ti Amo!,' Sean Baker's follow-up to his Best Picture-winning 'Anora,' which he describes as a love letter to Italian sex comedies of the '60s and '70s. Baker will write, direct, edit, cast, and produce, with a 2027 theatrical release planned. The label's positioning itself as something of an A24 killer, targeting two to three smartly budgeted releases per year with Neon-grade marketing chops and studio-scale resources.
✂️ Disney began cutting roughly 1,000 jobs this week. The layoffs, one of new CEO Josh D'Amaro's first big moves, span the company's film and TV studios, ESPN, marketing, and corporate divisions (theme parks, for now, get to keep their lanyards). Marvel Studios was reportedly hit especially hard, with nearly its entire visual development team let go after 10+ years, leaving a skeleton crew to hire on a per-project basis. D'Amaro framed the cuts as building a "more agile" workforce. We hate to keep tallying these, but the industry has shed over 53,000 jobs since 2023, and 2026 isn't offering much relief: Disney, Sony, and Bad Robot alone cut over 1,500 positions this month.
📲 AMC's biggest series launch of the year started on TikTok. The network cut the premiere of 'The Audacity' into 21 three-minute segments and dropped them all on the platform this past Sunday. The series, a darkly comedic drama about a Silicon Valley data scandal starring Billy Magnussen, is AMC's highest profile new series of 2026. The format isn't new to anyone under 25: TikTok users have been watching full movies and TV episodes chopped into three-minute segments (often pirated and reposted without permission) for years. Accounts posting these segments have racked up hundreds of thousands of followers, with individual clips pulling millions of views. AMC's just the first network to say "fine, we'll do it ourselves."
LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️
‘Octet,’ Lin-Manuel Miranda’s movie musical, has locked in a starry cast including Amanda Seyfried, Rachel Zegler and Sheryl Lee Ralph. (more)
Bradley Cooper's writing, directing and starring in the 'Ocean's' prequel opposite Margot Robbie. (more)
Jamie Dornan's replacing Viggo Mortensen in 'The Hunt for Gollum,' with Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and Kate Winslet also starring. (more)
Maya Erskine's making her feature directing debut with an untitled A24 teen comedy after breaking out in 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith.' (more)
Nicolas Cage is returning for a Paramount-backed 'Longlegs' follow-up with Osgood Perkins directing again. (more)
Patrick Schwarzenegger's starring opposite Phoebe Dynevor in 20th Century's Emily Henry adaptation 'Beach Read.' (more)
Zach Cregger and Roy Lee are reuniting to produce dark comedy 'Little One,' marking Alex Kavutskiy's feature directorial debut. (more)
Gal Gadot and Isla Fisher have joined Casey Affleck and Pete Davidson in Doug Liman's crypto thriller 'Bitcoin,' ahead of Cannes market sales. (more)
Adria Arjona's playing Maxima in James Gunn's 'Superman: Man of Tomorrow,' the DC sequel set for 2027. (more)
Sam Hargrave's directing Sony action film 'It Had To Be You,' about two rival assassins who fall for each other mid-mission. (more)
Brian Tyree Henry's starring opposite Spike Fearn in upcoming Apple film 'Running.' (more)
Cate Blanchett's playing Martha Stewart in 'Good Thing,' a biopic from 'Zola' director Janicza Bravo. (more)
TV Development 📺
Michelle Monaghan’s joining S3 of ‘Your Friends & Neighbors.’ (more)
Dan Stevens is joining 'Dexter: Resurrection' S2 as a new serial killer alongside Brian Cox and returning Uma Thurman. (more)
Alan Ritchson will lead a new Netflix survival competition series, marking his first major unscripted hosting role. (more)
‘The Madison’ has been renewed for S3 at Paramount+ ahead of its S2 debut. (more)
Other News 🚨
Cannes Directors' Fortnight unveiled its 2026 lineup, led by opener 'Butterfly Jam.' (more)
The UK's CMA is moving toward a formal investigation of the Paramount-WBD merger, opening public comment on the deal's impact on competition. (more)
'The Daily Show' is posting its best 18–49 ratings in over eight years, driven by Jon Stewart's return and a rotating host lineup. (more)
Film and TV shoots dropped across the U.S. in Q1, with one exception: New Jersey, where production jumped 45% year-over-year. (more)
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VIDEO VILLAGE
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MARTINI SHOT
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That's a wrap on your midweek edition. If someone forwarded this to you, first of all, good friends. Second of all, subscribe so you don't have to rely on their generosity.
See you Friday.
-The Dailies Team