🎬 Dumbing It Down

👋 Good morning! The Golden Globes red carpet saw double last night when two contest-winning lookalikes crashed Hollywood's party. Max Braunstein (who won his Glen Powell contest for $5 and free queso) and Miles Mitchell (champion of 2,600 Timothée twins) showed up with cheeky signs while their famous doppelgangers competed for Best Actor inside. More on the Golden Globes below. 👇

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🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Golden Globes Recap

• Netflix Dumbs It Down

• Specialty Distributors’ New Play

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

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Call Sheet: The week ahead

• Martini Shot 🍸

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

BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN
🎟️ Holiday holdovers keep the box office warm…

1. 🦁 Mufasa: The Lion King: $23.8M domestic weekend (-35%), $168.6M domestic total, $476.4M global. Barry Jenkins' prequel finally claims the crown in its third frame, with strong IMAX numbers ($31M global).

2. 🎮 Sonic the Hedgehog 3: $21.2M domestic weekend (-43%), $187.5M domestic total, $336.3M global. The speedy hedgehog helps push the trilogy past $1B worldwide. Just days away from topping ‘Sonic 2's’ domestic total.

3. 🧛‍♂️ Nosferatu: $13.2M domestic weekend (-39%), $69.4M domestic total, $100.3M global. Robert Eggers' gothic horror shows impressive legs, becoming Focus Features' fourth-biggest domestic hit ever.

4. 🌊 Moana 2: $12.4M domestic weekend (-34%), $425.1M domestic total, $960.5M global. Disney's animated sequel surpasses the original ‘Lion King's’ domestic total and eyes the $1B global milestone.

5. 🧙‍♀️ Wicked: $10.2M domestic weekend (-48%), $450.7M domestic total, $681M global.

6. 🎸 A Complete Unknown: $8.1M domestic weekend (-31%), $41.7M domestic total. Timothée Chalamet's Bob Dylan biopic impresses ahead of its late January international rollout, becoming Searchlight's biggest hit since Disney acquisition.

7. 💋 Babygirl: $4.49M domestic weekend (even), $16.1M domestic total. A24's erotic thriller holds remarkably well in second frame.

8. ⚔️ Gladiator II: $2.67M domestic weekend (-35%), $168.8M domestic total, $449.7M global.

9. 🏠 Homestead: $2.1M domestic weekend (-32%), $17.4M domestic total.

10. 🔥 The Fire Inside: $1.23M domestic weekend (-37%), $7.1M domestic total.

The Big Picture: The first weekend of 2025 delivered a solid $105.5M overall (+23% vs 2024) with no new wide releases entering the fray. Despite Winter Storm Blair threatening to freeze out moviegoers, the holdovers showed some impressive staying power. Even the specialty scene kept cooking, with ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘A Complete Unknown’ proving there's still life in mid-budget adult fare.

CLOSEUP
🏆 Awards season kicks into high gear…

The stars were back in full force at the Beverly Hilton last night for the 82nd Golden Globes, marking another step in the show's comeback after its rocky 2021 ceremony. Now under new management with Dick Clark Productions and airing on CBS, the ceremony kicked off what promises to be an exciting awards season.

Comedian Nikki Glaser made history as the show's first solo female host. Social media viewers immediately took to X to praise her performance, with many contrasting it to Jo Koy's controversial hosting stint in 2024. Glaser delivered a monologue that had viewers calling for her to "host every event."

The night’s big winners:

‘Emilia Pérez’ dominated with four wins:

• Best Musical/Comedy Film

• Best Original Song (‘El Mal’)

• Best Non-English Language Film

• Best Supporting Actress (an emotional Zoe Saldaña)

‘The Brutalist’ swept the drama categories:

• Best Drama Film

• Best Actor (Adrien Brody)

• Best Director (Brady Corbet)

‘Shōgun’ ruled television with four major wins:

• Best Drama Series

• Best Actor (Hiroyuki Sanada)

• Best Supporting Actor (Tadanobu Asano)

• Best Actress (Anna Sawai)

Other notable victories:

• ‘Hacks’ grabbed Best Comedy Series and Best Actress (Jean Smart's second Globe for the role)

• ‘Baby Reindeer’ earned Jessica Gunning Best Supporting Actress on TV

• Demi Moore won her first-ever Globe for ‘The Substance’

• Kieran Culkin took Supporting Actor for ‘A Real Pain’ (his second Globe in two years)

• ‘The Penguin’ star Colin Farrell won Best Actor in a Limited Series

• Jodie Foster earned Best Actress in a Limited Series for ‘True Detective: Night Country’

• Fernanda Torres surprised with Best Actress in Drama for ‘I'm Still Here’

ICYMI Viral Moments 👀

• Glaser got Adam Sandler to say "Chalamet" in his signature voice after suggesting it sounded like a word from his vocabulary

• Sofia Vergara interrupted Jodie Foster’s acceptance speech, playfully demanding a Globe after losing her nomination, shouting "No, no, give me one!"

• Vin Diesel's awkward "Hey Dwayne" while presenting had social media divided on whether it was a friendly nod or shade to The Rock

• Colin Farrell made a point to genuinely thank craft services during his heartfelt acceptance speech

Looking ahead: After months of uncertainty about potential Oscar frontrunners, the Golden Globes might have finally given us some clarity. With 'Emilia Pérez' and 'The Brutalist' emerging as the night's heavy hitters, the Academy Awards race is taking shape. Next stop: Critics' Choice Awards on Jan. 12, where we'll see if these frontrunners can keep their momentum rolling.

WIDESHOT
🎬 Netflix dumbs it down, and specialty starts wide…

📱📺 Netflix is dumbing down its shows for a phone-obsessed audience. The streaming giant is pushing writers to create simpler scripts and explicit narration to keep distracted viewers engaged. With 94% of viewers scrolling while streaming, execs are mandating dialogue that spells out everything from character entrances to scenic descriptions—like Lindsay Lohan's ‘Irish Wish’ awkwardly narrating its own visuals. Industry veteran Justine Bateman calls this approach "visual muzak"—referring to the kind of mindless, elevator-style background entertainment that doesn't demand attention. The dialogue has become so formulaic that viewers are starting to wonder if AI is involved, with some Reddit users questioning if shows like ‘The Perfect Couple’ were written by machines rather than humans. As streaming platforms optimize for distracted viewing, we’ll see whether movie theaters emerge as the last place where stories still demand our full attention.

🎬📈 Specialty distributors are rewriting the holiday release rulebook—and it’s paying off. Traditionally, indie and arthouse films avoid the competitive holiday season altogether, or if they do release during this period, they start small in select theaters (known as "platforming"). But Focus Features, Searchlight, and A24 threw out that playbook this Christmas, launching ‘Nosferatu,’ ‘A Complete Unknown,’ and ‘Babygirl’ in wide release. The gamble's paying off: ‘Nosferatu’ defied its B- CinemaScore with just a 39% second-week drop, tracking toward $100M domestic. Searchlight's ‘A Complete Unknown’ is showing similar legs, dipping only 31% to hit $41.7M. Most surprising is A24's ‘Babygirl’—the $20M Nicole Kidman-led film held steady with zero drop in week two. These distributors are proving that adult-oriented indies can thrive by going wide during peak moviegoing periods. As traditional tentpoles face diminishing returns, this Christmas experiment points to a future where the holidays aren't just for blockbusters anymore.

INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM THE DAILIES
🤔 "Thanks, but we'll pass..."

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LAST LOOKS
Development 🗒️

• Amazon has licensed a Brett Ratner-directed documentary on Melania Trump for theatrical and streaming release on Prime Video. (more)

• R.L. Stine confirms three new ‘Fear Street’ films are in development. (more)

• ‘Shining Vale,’ starring Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear, finds a new streaming home on Max after its cancellation by Starz. (more)

• Heidi Klum is set to return to ‘Project Runway’ in 2025 as the series moves to Freeform for its 21st season. (more)

• ‘The Franchise’ is cancelled after S1 by HBO. (more)

Business 🤝

• Paramount, Skydance, and NAI defend their $8B merger against FCC petitions alleging foreign influence, bias, and anticompetitive practices, seeking unconditional approval. (more)

Other News 🚨

• ‘Emilia Pérez’ and ‘Conclave’ lead the BAFTA 2025 longlists with 15 and 14 nods respectively, setting the stage for a competitive awards season. (more)

CALL SHEET
📅 The week ahead

• WEDNESDAY: SAG Awards nominations announced 🎭

• SUNDAY: Critics Choice Awards

VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers

MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest viral moments