🎬 The IMAX Renaissance

👋 Good morning! Ever had that moment when you're watching a movie, and suddenly, the title’s mentioned in the dialogue, and you can't help but think, "Ah, there it is!"? Well, our friends at Morning Brew shared this absolutely cool visualization of 'title drops' in movies yesterday. It's like a secret handshake between the movie and its audience, and we just had to share it with you all. What’s your favorite title drop?

Welcome aboard the Dailies. As you sip your morning brew, we’ll get you caught up with the fast-paced world of Hollywood - no need to chase down a newsstand, we’ve got everything you need right here.

🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• The IMAX Renaissance

• Streamers Serve Up Live Sports

• Disney’s Stealthy Project Cuts

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

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Martini Shot 🍸

🎬🍿 The IMAX Renaissance: Over its opening weekend, ‘Dune: Part Two’ not only sold out IMAX screens worldwide but also marked a pivotal moment in what appears to be an IMAX renaissance. The film grossed over $82.5M in North America, and $32.2M from 809 IMAX screens alone, with every available seat snapped up. Directors like Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan, with ‘Oppenheimer,’ are opting to shoot with IMAX cameras, betting big on the immersive experience that only giant screens can offer. This shift towards premium formats has IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond feeling bullish, noting a "global march towards premium" experiences outside the home. The success of films on IMAX screens has studios scrambling to secure their spot on the coveted release schedule. In fact, IMAX's summer 2025 calendar is already fully booked, with studios eager to avoid being left in the dust.

🎾📺 Streamers Serve Up Live Sports: This past weekend, the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas was buzzing, thanks to the ‘Netflix Slam.’ Tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz faced off, thrilling fans both in the arena and watching live on Netflix. The event is a big leap for Netflix into live sports, building on its successful sports docu-series and paving the way for more live content like WWE Raw in 2025. Gabe Spitzer, the head of nonfiction sports at Netflix, emphasized the platform's exhaustive outreach to "every league, every athlete, every team," highlighting their quest for compelling sports narratives. With Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox launching a sports-streaming venture in the fall, and Amazon already streaming NFL games, it looks like the competition for live sports streaming is just heating up. Traditional TV's long-held dominance in this space may be facing its biggest challenge yet.

🎬✂️ Disney's Stealthy Project Cuts: While Warner Bros. Discovery faces backlash for publicly shelving films like 'Coyote vs. Acme,' Disney CEO Bob Iger has pulled back the curtain on his own company's stealthy approach to axing projects. Speaking at a high-profile conference, Iger revealed Disney's strategy of silently dropping projects they've lost faith in, a decision he describes as tough but necessary for enhancing their film slate. Unlike WBD's public scrapping of ‘Batgirl’ and ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ Disney's cuts, like the swift removal of ‘Crater’ from Disney+, have flown under the radar. The strategy has critics and creators alike grappling with the balance between business decisions and creative integrity.

Development 🗒️

• Mckenna Grace is set to star in and executive produce ‘Straight Lies,’ a psychological thriller by Mandalay Pictures. (more)

• Fox commits to a ‘Baywatch’ reboot with a significant script plus penalty commitment. (more)

• The ‘Community’ movie is set to shoot this year, with Peacock coordinating the start date around Donald Glover's schedule. (more)

• Jeff Rowe, the filmmaker behind ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,’ has signed a multi-year first-look deal with Paramount Animation. (more)

• Rebecca Ferguson joins Chris Pratt in the Amazon MGM Studios sci-fi thriller ‘Mercy.’ (more)

• Kumail Nanjiani joins the cast of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ S4. (more)

• Adam McKay is set to direct ‘Greenhouse,’ a climate change-themed movie starring Amy Adams and Sam Rockwell. (more)

• Kim Kardashian’s thriller feature has landed at Amazon MGM Studios for potential theatrical or streaming release. (more)

• Jamie Foxx is set to return as host and executive producer for S7 of ‘Beat Shazam.’ (more)

• Patton Oswalt will host Amazon Prime Video's game show ‘The 1% Club,’ with Fox airing episodes after their streaming debut. (more)

• Patrick J. Adams, Connor Swindells, Merritt Wever, Eddie Marsan, and Peter Mullan have been cast in the Netflix and BBC series ‘Lockerbie.’ (more)

• CBS has greenlit a ‘Young Sheldon’ spinoff series featuring characters Georgie and Mandy. (more)

• Kevin Spacey is cast as ‘The Devil’ in Massimo Paolucci's Italian psychological thriller ‘The Contract.’ (more)

• Lindsay Lohan confirms a ‘Freaky Friday’ with Jamie Lee Curtis is in the works. (more)

• Cameron Diaz is in talks to join Keanu Reeves in Jonah Hill-directed comedy, ‘Outcome.’ (more)

• Lionsgate TV is developing Liza Mundy's ‘The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA’ into a scripted series, with Scott Delman executive producing. (more)

• Regé-Jean Page will join Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett in Steven Soderbergh's spy thriller ‘Black Bag’ for Focus Features. (more)

• Amazon orders S2 of Italian hit series ‘The Bad Guy.’ (more)

• Disney+ expands its Korean content offering with ‘The Tyrant.’ (more)

✅ Renewed & Cancelled ❌

• ‘Tracker’ is renewed for S2 at CBS. (more)

• ‘Crime Scene Kitchen’ is renewed for S3 at Fox. (more)

Business 🤝

• Disney CEO Bob Iger expresses "extreme confidence" in achieving streaming profitability by the fourth fiscal quarter of 2024. (more)

• Fox, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery anticipate their new sports streaming venture to attract 5M subscribers within five years. (more)

• Trian Partners, led by Nelson Peltz, outlines a strategy in a 130-page memo to overhaul Disney, targeting Bob Iger's approach and suggesting major cost cuts in the studio and linear TV sectors. (more)

• Canal+ enhances its takeover bid for African content leader MultiChoice to $1.77B. (more)

• Prime Video initiates job consultations in Europe, with less than 5% of staff facing layoffs as part of an international restructuring. (more)

• Warner Bros. Discovery says that a Max password sharing crackdown is coming. (more)

Other News 🚨

• ‘Oppenheimer’ amasses 821M streaming minutes on Peacock in its debut week. (more)

• The EU imposes a €1.8 billion fine on Apple for antitrust violations in the music streaming market. (more)

• Leonine Studios launches a documentary label, led by Jochen Koestler. (more)

• Nickelodeon Animation workers and the Animation Guild have ratified a landmark contract ensuring wage increases, minimum staffing requirements, and other benefits, with an 89% approval rate from voting members. (more)