🎬 That's a New Low 😬

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🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Emmy Awards' Ratings Tumble

• ‘Mean Girls’ Hits a High Note

• Amazon's Play in Sports Advertising

• LA's Production Struggle

• 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!

📺🏆 Emmy Awards' Ratings Tumble: The 75th Emmy Awards, delayed due to industry strikes, recorded its lowest viewership ever with just 4.3M viewers. This awards show saw a 27% nosedive from 2022's already modest numbers. It's the fifth time in six years the awards have hit a viewership slump, making it more of a trend than a blip. The key 18-49 demographic wasn't too keen either, hitting its own record low. Factors like its unusual January scheduling, as well as airing against stiff competition like a powerhouse NFL playoff and the buzz of Iowa caucus coverage, may have contributed to the dip. Despite the ratings fumble, the Emmys received mostly positive reviews for its celebration of the industry, and marked Fox’s best non-sports Monday night since May 2022.

💁‍♀️🎶 ‘Mean Girls’ Musical Hits a High Note: The ‘Mean Girls’ musical has struck a chord at the box office, bringing in a solid $33M over its MLK Jr. holiday weekend debut. Paramount Pictures skillfully navigated the complexities of audience expectation: By deliberately choosing not to emphasize the musical aspect in the film’s promotion, the studio was able to sidestep the stereotype of musical films, attracting a wider audience. This approach reflects an understanding of current audience tastes, showing that viewers are eager for innovative twists on familiar stories without being confined to traditional genre expectations. Paramount’s tactic also shows that subtlety and nuance in marketing can lead to surprising box office success, especially when reinventing a beloved classic for a new generation.

🏈💰 Amazon's Play in Sports Advertising: Amazon is stepping up its advertising savvy in 2024, with a focus on live sports streaming on Prime Video. This comes after the introduction of ads into the Prime ecosystem, alongside a $3/month opt-out option. Danielle Carney, Amazon’s head of sports advertising, is spearheading the initiative, which is already seeing success with increased viewership in NFL Thursday Night Football. Amazon is introducing a suite of innovative advertising tactics, including interactive video ads and audience-specific content, bringing a new spin to traditional methods. Looking forward, Amazon's playbook includes broadening its horizons to encompass NASCAR and dynamic women's sports leagues like the NWSL and WNBA, aiming to blend innovative sponsorship approaches with the flair of their advertising game.

🎬📉 LA's Production Struggle Post-Strikes: Los Angeles' TV and film production has been slow to bounce back after the industry-wide WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last fall. FilmLA data reveals a significant downturn in scripted TV and feature film production, even post-strike. Overall location filming in 2023 plummeted by 32.4% compared to 2022, affecting all sectors including commercials and reality TV. The recovery is gradual, with TV dramas and comedies still showing a steep decline in shoot days compared to both the previous year and the pandemic-impacted 2020.

Development 🗒️

• Greg Daniels is reportedly assembling a writers room for a new version of 'The Office.’ (more)

• XYZ Films acquires U.S. distribution rights for the martial arts sci-fi sequel 'Skyline: Warpath.’ (more)

• Sean Baker is set to executive produce ‘Modern Whore’ movie adaptation. (more)

• Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Aimee Lou Wood join the cast of HBO's 'The White Lotus' S3. (more)

• Chad Stahelski signs a deal with Lionsgate to oversee the 'John Wick' and 'Highlander' franchises. (more)

• Orange Studio acquires Daniel Auteuil's legal thriller 'An Ordinary Case.’ (more)

• Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny join the cast of ‘Monster’ S2 cast as the parents of the Menéndez Brothers. (more)

• June Squibb joins the cast of Pixar’s ‘Inside Out 2.’ (more)

• Liam Neeson returns in ‘The Ice Road 2,’ directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, with filming moving from North America to Australia. (more)

• Max acquires ‘Rolling Along: Bill Bradley,’ a Spike Lee and Frank Oz executive-produced documentary. (more)

• Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz are directing and producing a definitive docuseries on Atari titled ‘Game Changers: The Story of Atari.’ (more)

• Netflix is planning to stream ‘Inside the NFL’ during playoffs and the Super Bowl. (more)

• Bleecker Street and FilmNation Entertainment acquire worldwide rights to Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry's father-daughter drama ‘Treasure.’ (more)

• Marlon Wayans to lead in Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions and Universal's psychological horror film 'GOAT,' directed by Justin Tipping. (more)

• Signature Entertainment acquires the U.K. and Ireland rights to Josh Duhamel action-comedy 'London Calling.' (more)

• A feature film adaptation is in the works for Broadway’s ‘Shucked.’ (more)

• ‘Magazine Dreams’ is being shopped post-Jonathan Majors assault verdict. (more)

• LaKeith Stanfield joins Mark Wahlberg in ‘Play Dirty.’ (more)

Business 🤝

• Adobe launches a $6M Film & TV fund to support underrepresented creators in the entertainment industry. (more)

• Disney and TSG Entertainment settle a lawsuit involving accusations of underreported profits and self-dealing related to film distribution and streaming platform strategies, with undisclosed terms. (more)

• Vue International, grappling with the fallout from Hollywood's strikes, discusses debt restructuring with shareholders and lenders. (more)

Other News 🚨

• Elton John attains EGOT status after his Emmy win this week. (more)

• Apple Vision Pro will launch with over 150 3D movies, immersive originals, and apps like Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. (more)

• ABC News cancel their planned Republican debate after top candidates Nikki Haley and Donald Trump decline to commit to appearing. (more)

• The 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' series premiere has garnered over 26M views on Disney+ and Hulu within its first three weeks. (more)