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👋 Good morning! Seth Rogen executed the most obvious stealth mission in Venice Film Festival history earlier this week. The ‘Studio’ creator showed up at festival trying to blend in with the black-tie crowd, while furiously photographing everything like a tourist on his first gondola ride. Turns out he was doing undercover reconnaissance for S2. Somehow you just know those excessive standing ovations are getting roasted next season.

Happy Friday, and welcome to The Dailies. Every M/W/F we beam the industry's most crucial updates straight to your inbox. Friend forwarded this? Make it official and sign up here.

TOP STREAMED
📊 What U.S. audiences were watching this week…

How last week’s new releases are stacking up…

• 🔪 The Thursday Murder Club: (Netflix) Opened to 15.6M hours watched and 7.9M views in the U.S. over its debut weekend according to Luminate. Strong debut, though not quite breakout by Netflix standards.

• 📱 Unknown Number: The High School Catfish: (Netflix) The doc pulled 3.2M views opening weekend. A solid start, but it didn’t reach the viral momentum of Netflix’s other buzzy docs like ‘Trainwreck: Poop Cruise.’

• 🐺 The Terminal List: Dark Wolf: (Prime Video) Episodes are rolling out weekly, with Ep 1 logging 3.9M views in its first 5 days. Softer than the OG ‘Terminal List’ opener (6.6M in the same frame).

• 👧 My Life with the Walter Boys: (Netflix) Most-streamed show of the week with 13.3M hours in its debut weekend, and Ep 1 drawing 3.2M views. Slight bump from S1’s 12.1M debut weekend. Netflix’s global numbers peg it at 11.8M views across the same frame.

Sources: Top-streamed chart (U.S.) via FlixPatrol; new release viewership data (U.S.) via Luminate.

CLOSEUP
🎮 A gamer CEO just greenlit Call of Duty…

Paramount and Activision struck a deal this week to bring Call of Duty to the big screen. The franchise has sold 500M copies across 23 mainline titles and topped US sales charts for 16 straight years, making it one of gaming's most valuable untapped film properties.

It’s Paramount's first major IP play since the Skydance merger last month, joining recent moves like UFC rights and a pact with 'Stranger Things' creators the Duffer Brothers. The deal comes as video game adaptations are hitting unprecedented heights:

• 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' pulled in $1.3B worldwide

• Paramount's own 'Sonic' franchise crossed $1B across three films

• 'A Minecraft Movie' has earned over $950M globally

This isn't Hollywood's first attempt at Call of Duty: Activision created its own studio in 2015 to develop a "robust cinematic universe" around COD, but those projects never materialized. They tried again in 2018, attaching 'Sicario 2' director Stefano Sollima to a film adaptation that also went nowhere.

Paramount might have an edge: CEO David Ellison actually plays COD, name-drops games like 'Modern Warfare' and 'Black Ops,' and promises 'Top Gun: Maverick'-level commitment. Recent video game successes all share one trait: they respected the source material. Having a genuine fan in charge could be a significant advantage.

Perfect timing: A recent NRG study found Gen Alpha (ages 12 and below) actually wants to go to theaters, but the IP they care about skews heavily toward digital-first properties and video games. For this generation, franchises like Minecraft and Fortnite are their Star Wars. COD joins other video game adaptations 'Street Fighter,' 'Metal Gear Solid,' and 'Elden Ring' in development.

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WIDESHOT
🎬 The Free Press, Studios vs. Midjourney, and TikTok…

🔄 CBS News might look different next year. Paramount's CEO David Ellison is reportedly close to buying Bari Weiss's The Free Press for $100-200M and giving her a major role at CBS News. Weiss left The New York Times in 2020 over ideological clashes and built The Free Press on Substack into a major platform that challenges traditional media coverage. It's a bold bet by Ellison, who's looking to reinvent the struggling news division with a personality-driven approach that breaks from network news conventions. Industry watchers expect major changes ahead for the network that was once home to Walter Cronkite.

⚖️ Another studio is going after Midjourney. Warner Bros. Discovery has joined Disney and Universal in suing the AI image generator, accusing it of building its business through widespread theft of copyrighted material. WBD claims Midjourney trained its system on protected content and now allows millions of users to create images of characters like Batman, Superman, and Bugs Bunny without authorization. WBD wants either the company's profits from these alleged violations or $150K for each infringed work—potentially massive damages. Paramount, Sony, and Amazon MGM remain on the sidelines for now.

🍿 TikTok just became a movie theater box office. The social platform teamed up with Fandango to let users buy movie tickets directly in the app, starting with Disney's 'Tron: Ares' in October. Users can tap a "Get Tickets" button to buy seats instantly through TikTok Spotlight. Fandango says half of TikTok's US users discover new movies on the platform, with 36% inspired to take action. Now the algorithm can convert that interest into instant ticket sales. Hollywood's betting that reaching younger audiences means eliminating any friction between viral video and theater seat.

ICYMI
⚡️ Quick hits…

🇨🇦 TIFF kicked off yesterday, and while it's never been known as a sales marketplace like Cannes or Berlin, that's about to change. With an official market launching next year, this year's high-profile films without distribution deals will serve as a test run for buyer interest.

🤝 Paramount and Legendary closed a three-year global distribution deal starting with 'Street Fighter,' now releasing fall 2026. The deal will help Paramount reach CEO David Ellison's goal of cranking out 15-20 annual releases, though Warner Bros. will keep 'Dune' and 'Godzilla x Kong' franchises.

📺 SNL is adding five new cast members for S51, bringing on Please Don't Destroy's Ben Marshall alongside stand-up comedians Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska. After losing four cast members, the show will actually have a bigger roster than last season when it returns October 4.

📽️ Paul Thomas Anderson's 'One Battle After Another' will screen in VistaVision at three theaters on September 26, marking the format's first theatrical use since 1961. Viewers can also choose IMAX 70mm, traditional 70mm or digital, as directors increasingly promote specific projection formats to entice cinema enthusiasts.

LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• Emily Blunt will star in and produce ‘Walk the Blue Fields,’ with John Crowley directing the Claire Keegan adaptation. (more)

• Sam Raimi and Roy Lee are producing a Lionsgate remake of the 1978 ventriloquist dummy horror film ‘Magic.’ (more)

• Alan Ritchson will star as Navy SEAL Mike Thornton in an untitled Amazon MGM film from director Patrick Hughes. (more)

• Curry Barker will direct, star in, and co-write horror film ‘Anything But Ghosts,’ produced by Jason Blum and Roy Lee. (more)

• James Gunn revealed his ‘Superman’ follow-up, ‘Man of Tomorrow,’ arriving July 9, 2027. (more)

• Dexter Fletcher will direct Paramount’s modern remake of ‘The League of Gentlemen,’ based on the 1960 British heist film. (more)

• Jordan Peele’s untitled fourth film has been pulled from Universal’s 2026 slate as the director continues developing his ‘Nope’ follow-up. (more)

• Luc Besson’s ‘Dracula: A Love Tale,’ starring Caleb Landry Jones, has been acquired by Vertical for North American release in early 2026. (more)

TV Development 📺

• Peacock renewed ‘The Paper’ for S2 a day before the ‘Office’ spinoff’s first season premieres. (more)

• John C. McGinley will reprise Dr. Cox in ABC’s ‘Scrubs’ reboot, joining Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, and Judy Reyes. (more)

• Ed Harris has joined ‘The Dutton Ranch,’ the upcoming ‘Yellowstone’ spinoff alongside Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser and Annette Bening. (more)

• Sophie Turner has been confirmed as Lara Croft in Prime Video’s ‘Tomb Raider’ series, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge as co-showrunner. (more)

Other News 🚨

• Brad Pitt’s Plan B launched a London-based European arm, Plan B Europe, with ‘Baby Reindeer’ exec Ed Macdonald set to lead. (more)

• Will Smith and his Westbrook banner have signed a first-look deal with Paramount, with two projects already in development. (more)

RELEASE RADAR
📅 This week’s new releases…

🎥 THEATRICAL

• The Conjuring: Last Rites: Final chapter of the supernatural horror franchise.

• Splitsville: Comedy starring Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona.

• Twinless: Sundance-winning comedy starring Dylan O'Brien in dual roles.

📺 STREAMING

• The Paper: (Peacock) 'The Office' spinoff starring Domhnall Gleeson.

• Task: (HBO Max) Crime drama miniseries starring Mark Ruffalo.

• Highest 2 Lowest: (Apple TV+) Spike Lee remake of Kurosawa's 'High and Low.'

VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers

MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest viral moments