🎬 Hollywood’s Swift Shift

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🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Closeup: Hollywood’s Swift Shift

• Job Losses in Film & TV

• ‘Postcard From Earth’ Debuts at the Sphere

• Blackstone’s Hollywood Venture Hits Hurdles

• 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
🎟️ BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN 🎟️

👻 The Exorcist: Believer: Top of the box office with $27.2M. Globally, it kicked off with $45.0M.

🐾 Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie: Chewed up $11.7M this weekend, making its 10-day total a strong $38.8M. Globally, it’s fetched $87.0M, holding pretty steady for a pupper sequel! 🌍🐶

🪚 Saw X: Dropped a bit with $8.1M in its second weekend, showing better resilience than several of its predecessors. So far, it's conjured up $32.5M.

🚀 The Creator: Sci-fi venture descends with $6.1M this weekend, a -57% drop, but it’s still creating a buzz overseas, pulling in $61.8M globally. 🌌

🦆 The Blind: An unexpected hit in the faith-based genre, keeping fifth place with a gentle -28% dip to $3.1M in its second weekend. 🙏🎥

Hollywood’s Swift Shift
How Taylor Swift Flipped The Script on Distribution 🤩

Taylor Swift, already dominating the music industry, is stepping into Hollywood to re-write the script with the release of her new concert film, ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.’ Typically, when movie producers are releasing a new film, they partner with the major movie studios for marketing and distribution, in exchange for a chunk of box office revenue. But Taylor and her team decided not to succumb to the hefty demands of the studios and go a different route.

Swift opted to self-produce her film and take it to AMC directly, eliminating the need for a middleman altogether. The film, which releases next Friday, Oct. 13, officially crossed the $100M mark in advance ticket sales at the end of last week, causing a jump AMC’s share price. Swift’s film has shattered AMC records, helping it achieve its highest single-day ticket revenue ever.

Why is this deal so unique? Let’s take a look:

The Deal

The grapevine has it that Taylor’s parents and AMC CEO, Ada Aron, negotiated the deal. Individual theaters are reportedly going to keep 43% of the revenue, with the other 57% being split between AMC and team Swift.

But the real game-changer here is that Taylor hammered out ONE deal with AMC for every single one of its theaters. Pre-2018, this would’ve been a big no-no thanks to the ‘Paramount consent decrees’ — a piece of Hollywood history stemming from a 1948 Supreme Court decision, which pretty much put a leash on how studios and theaters played together in the sandbox.

These decrees, viewed by many as stifling to innovation in the modern landscape, were kicked to the curb in 2018. If they weren’t, Swift would’ve had to go knocking on the door of each theater individually, hat in hand, to strike a deal.

On top of that, the fall of the decrees allowed Taylor to set her ticket prices with a bit more swagger. That’s why you’ll see her tipping her hat to her own album with the $19.89 ticket price for adults.

A Win for AMC

The whole thing isn’t just a win for Taylor, but also for AMC, who navigated through the rough seas of COVID-19 and are bouncing back from losses in 2021 and 2022. We’re also seeing that the movie theater is still a viable venue for cultural events. This isn't just a revival of the classic cinema experience, but also a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel for theaters like AMC. It proves that with the right content, the crowds will return!

So, What Does It Mean For the Future?

Some speculate that Taylor’s monumental move may be the start of a growing trend, especially with Beyoncé following in the same footsteps with her ‘Renaissance’ tour.

This newfound freedom in distribution could give creators unprecedented control. Imagine picking your own movie debut dates, crafting your own promotional strategy, and doing it all without a big studio cramping your style or shoving you into less-than-stellar release slots. Case in point: Taylor’s move out-competing Universal’s ‘Exorcist: Believer’ for an Oct. 13 release gives a little peek into how future drops might jostle planned studio debuts.

On the flip side, however, many are pointing out that Swift is the exception. With a name that summons legions of fans without needing to whisper a word of promo, her self-distribution success might not be an easy script for all to follow. The marketing muscle and wallet power studios usually provide can’t be under-appreciated for the many directors and producers whose names don’t immediately fill theaters.

So is it a revolution? Mmm, maybe not entirely. Perhaps what we’re seeing is a potential subtle reconfiguration of Hollywood’s machinery. Smaller, self-distributed films might find their own spots in the gaps between mammoth studio releases. This could end up giving audiences more options regularly, helping to even out the sometimes sporadic release schedules.

Strikes Lead to a Whopping 45K Job Losses in Film & TV 🎬🚧Hollywood’s been on a wild ride, hasn’t it? 🎢 The entertainment biz is feeling the burn with a jaw-dropping 45,000 jobs lost since major labor strikes commenced in May. The recent job report showed that 7,000 jobs vanished in September alone, following an even bigger loss of 17,000 in August. Although the Writers’ strike has wrapped up, and SAG-AFTRA might be on a path to resolution, the lingering question is: Can Hollywood bounce back and light up our screens now that productions are starting to resume, or are these job losses sticking around?

A High-Tech Glimpse at Our Planet 🌎 Darren Aronofsky, the visionary behind the Oscar-nominated 'Black Swan,' took audience members on a mesmerizing journey through our planet with his new 18K-resolution film, ‘Postcard from Earth,’ showcased in Las Vegas’ architectural marvel, The Sphere. 🎥 Merging compelling narratives with breathtaking visuals, the film invites viewers to explore vibrant scenes from Mexico to India, all while The Sphere hints at the future of cinema with its 16K x 16K screen and immersive sound. Amidst the half a million gigabytes of visual splendor, both Aronofsky’s creation and the venue stand as potent symbols of the potential future fusion of technology and storytelling.

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Blackstone's Hollywood Venture Hits Financial Hurdles 🎬📉 In 2021, Blackstone Group entrusted a whopping $1B to former Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs to launch Candle Media, but the Hollywood gamble has faced unexpected headwinds. Despite acquiring notable names like Reese Witherspoon’s company, Hello Sunshine, and YouTube hit Cocomelon, the firm saw earnings plummet 50% below 2023 projections amidst industry strikes, advertising dips, and economic downturns in entertainment. 📊💸 While still profitable overall and experiencing growth despite hurdles, Candle Media hasn’t hit the expected financial high notes. Mayer and Staggs, while retaining their optimism and parallel consulting roles at Disney, are recalibrating their strategy for Candle’s upcoming endeavors. 🚀🤞

Development 🗒️

• Christoph Waltz joins Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein.’ (more)

• BBC denies canceling ‘Top Gear’ despite production team reportedly seeking work elsewhere. (more)

• ‘Vikings: Valhalla’ will conclude with its upcoming third season on Netflix. (more)

• Universal Pictures has acquired the rights to adapt a biopic about Martin Luther King Jr., with Chris Rock in final talks to direct and produce, and Steven Spielberg set to executive produce. (more)

• ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ is renewed for S2 by Netflix. (more)

Releases 📅

• ‘Freud's Last Session,’ starring Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode, is set to open in theaters in New York and L.A. on Dec. 22. (more)

• ‘Fast Charlie,’ James Caan's last film, starring Pierce Brosnan and Morena Baccarin, secures U.S. distribution with Vertical and will premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival on Oct 7th. (more)

• The infamously quickly-cancelled 1969 TV show ‘Turn-On’ will air its first two episodes on YouTube. (more)

Business 🤝

• Anonymous Content has cut 8% of its staff amid ongoing CEO search. (more)

• The Philippines boosts its film location incentive to 25% by adding a cultural bonus, aiming to amplify international co-productions and offshore production. (more)

Strike News 🪧

• SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP will meet again today at SAG’s Wilshire HQ to continue bargaining. (more)

Other News 🚨

• ‘Suits’ breaks Nielsen’s all-time streaming record by claiming the No. 1 spot for a 12th week. (more)

• ‘Only Murders in the Building’ S3 finale becomes Hulu's most-watched 2023 finale, maintaining its title as the platform's top original comedy. (more)

• BBC blocks ChatGPT from scraping its content, citing copyright and privacy concerns. (more)

• ‘Rust’ producers, including Alec Baldwin, are accused of obstructing the criminal investigation into cinematographer Halyna Hutchins's on-set death. (more)

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