🎬 Movies Lost Forever?

👋 Good morning! IATSE and the studios are back at the negotiating table in Sherman Oaks today. Fresh off a break to strategize internally, they’re set to tackle the unique concerns of cinematographers, editors, and other key players. Everyone's hoping these talks will lead to a fair deal and avoid another strike. 🤝

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:

• Hollywood's Vanishing Reels

• Layoffs Hit Dreamworks

• Maine’s Netflix Tax

• 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. 🐼 Kung Fu Panda 4: Dominates with $30M domestically, $107.74M total in the US, and a strong global reach at $176.4M.

2. 🌌 Dune: Part Two: Secures $29.1M domestically, hitting $205.8M total in the US, with a worldwide tally of $494.7M.

3. 🐶 Arthur the King: $7.5M in its debut, hinting at a decent run against its $19M budget.

4. 🎭 Imaginary: Pulls $5.6M, totaling $19M domestically in its second week.

5. 🏙 Cabrini: Sinks to $2.81M, reaching $13M domestically after a 61% drop.

6. 💔 Love Lies Bleeding: Brings in $2.49M, showing unexpected strength.

7. 🎶 Bob Marley: One Love: Grooves to $2.3M this past weekend, amassing $93.36M total domestically.

8. 🐘 One Life: Starts with $1.71M, making a modest box office entry.

9. 🎩 The American Society of Magical Negroes: Makes $1.25M in its opening.

10. 👼 Ordinary Angels: Earns $1M, totaling $18.07M domestically in its fourth week.

🎥💾 Hollywood's Vanishing Reels: Archived movies are safe forever…right? Not quite, Hollywood is learning. It turns out that safeguarding archived films is quite a challenge, even in the digital age. Digital decay—stemming from data corruption or mismanagement, hard drive failures, and outdated formats—constantly threatens to erase vital cinematic works. The most vulnerable films to digital decay are often independent films and smaller productions. These projects typically operate on constrained budgets, leading to insufficient resources for proper digital storage and preservation. This crisis is not unprecedented; history is littered with lost films, like Alfred Hitchcock's ‘The Mountain Eagle’ and Ernst Lubitsch’s ‘The Patriot,’ which infamously vanished due to neglect or decay. Today's digital masterpieces could suffer the same fate if proactive measures aren't taken. Prominent figures like Martin Scorsese and entities like the Film Foundation are advocating for robust preservation practices. They emphasize the critical need for proactive measures to protect digital libraries, which are not only cultural treasures but also key financial assets for studios. As storage technologies evolve, the industry must continuously adapt to prevent irreversible losses.

📉🎬 Layoffs Hit Dreamworks Animation: DreamWorks Animation is facing a turbulent time with a wave of layoffs. This week, a significant number of staff, particularly from artistic departments, were shown the door, amid whispers outsourcing to cheaper labor markets in Canada and overseas. The VFX community on Reddit is abuzz, blaming outsourcing for the deep cuts, which reportedly swept away half of several departments. Amidst the upheaval, whispers emerged of Universal’s axing one of DreamWorks' upcoming projects. The situation has sparked outrage, highlighting a lack of severance for long-time employees and a perceived neglect by upper management. DreamWorks' sister studio, Illumination, has seemingly received the financial nod due to lower production costs and higher returns. DreamWorks rushes to complete 'The Wild Robot' amidst this chaos.

🍿💸 Maine Proposes Netflix Tax: Maine steps into the streaming tax arena, proposing a 5.5% tax on streaming services like Netflix, following a trend where around 25 U.S. states have either explored or implemented similar taxes. While states like Florida have long had such taxes, with Netflix recently passing these costs on to consumers, Maine’s move signals a growing acceptance of taxing digital entertainment. Their reasoning is that, until now, streaming services often didn't have this extra tax that you usually see on cable TV or buying movies online. This landscape shift means the film and TV industry might face budget recalibrations, as states seek to equalize digital and traditional media tax revenues, potentially impacting content pricing and production strategies.

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Development 🗒️

• Charlotte Le Bon replaces Francesca Corney in HBO's 'The White Lotus' S3. (more)

• DC Studios greenlights a live-action 'Teen Titans' movie, penned by 'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow' writer Ana Nogueira. (more)

• Greta Gerwig and Eve Hewson join an all-star cast for Noah Baumbach's upcoming, yet-to-be-titled Netflix film, with a coming-of-age story for adults. (more)

• Brandon Routh and Mena Suvari star in Joseph Kahn's creature feature 'Ick,' produced by Interstellar Entertainment. (more)

• The ‘Among Us’ animated series casts Randall Park, Yvette Nicole Brown, Elijah Wood, and Ashley Johnson in leading voice roles for the CBS Studios and Innersloth production. (more)

• Nicolas Cage reunites with Werner Herzog for 'Dead Man's Wire.’ (more)

• Netflix snags Lisa McGee's 'How to Get to Heaven From Belfast,' after Channel 4 drops the series due to editorial changes and rising costs. (more)

Business 🤝

• Pete Distad takes the helm as CEO of the unnamed sports streaming service by Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery. (more)

• Omar Sy, Louis Leterrier, and Thomas Benski launch Carrousel Studios, a film and TV production company with a focus on global content. (more)

Other News 🚨

• Blumhouse partners with AMC to screen iconic horror films like 'Insidious' and 'The Purge' in a 'Halfway to Halloween' fest across 40 cities. (more)

• Amazon MGM's 'The Idea Of You' breaks records with the most-watched trailer ever for a streaming movie. (more)