👋 Good morning! James Cameron sent projectionists a personal letter ahead of this weekend’s 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' release. The note lays out precise specs on light levels, framing, and audio calibration, with Cameron requesting theaters keep his 7.0 reference mix untouched. "You are the final, but critically important, part of our team," he wrote—and yes, he wrote it in Papyrus font. Ryan Gosling could not be reached for comment.
Happy Friday, and welcome back to The Dailies. Pour yourself a fresh cup and let's get you caught up. 👇☕️
TOP STREAMED
📊 This week’s top-streamed originals…
‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ (Netflix)
FILM 🎥
Netflix: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
HBO Max: 8-Bit Christmas
Disney+: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Prime Video: Oh. What. Fun.
Paramount+: Dear Santa
Hulu: Nutcrackers
Apple TV: F1: The Movie
Peacock: Genie
TV 📺
Netflix: Sean Combs: The Reckoning
HBO Max: Love & Death
Disney+: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Prime Video: Fallout
Paramount+: Landman
Hulu: All’s Fair
Apple TV: Pluribus
Peacock: Days of Our Lives
How last week’s releases are stacking up…
🕵️ Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery: (Netflix) Brought in 5.6M domestic views in its opening weekend. That’s around half of ‘Glass Onion,’ which pulled 10.7M in the same window. Still managed to finish as the most-streamed movie across platforms in the US this week.
🛢️ Landman: (Paramount+) Still on a tear, coming in as the most-streamed show across platforms in the US this week. The first four episodes of S2 have averaged 16.9M domestic views in their first seven days.
Top-streamed chart (U.S.) Dec. 12 to Dec. 18. Data provided by Luminate.
CLOSEUP
🏆 The Oscars are leaving broadcast TV…
After more than 50 years on ABC, the Academy Awards are packing their bags for YouTube. The Google-owned platform won a five-year deal starting in 2029, outbidding Disney, NBCUniversal, and Netflix to land Hollywood's biggest night. Some details:
YouTube's deal runs through at least 2033 and includes the ceremony, red carpet, Governors Awards, nominations announcements, and year-round filmmaker content, all streaming free globally.
Disney had been paying $75-100M annually but reportedly balked at AMPAS's asking price given years of declining viewership. For context: the 1998 ceremony (the year 'Titanic' swept) drew 57M viewers. Last year's show hit around 19.7M.
That said, 2025's ceremony was actually the highest-rated in five years, thanks partly to a Hulu simulcast, but apparently not enough to justify the price tag for Disney.
The bigger picture: The Oscars were one of the last major awards shows still anchored to broadcast. Netflix already has the Actors Awards (formerly SAG), and streaming platforms have been systematically scooping up live events that once defined network TV. For YouTube (which pulled in $36B in ad revenue last year) this is a flex. For AMPAS, it's a bet on global reach over domestic ratings.
The creative wildcard: Without the constraints of a traditional broadcast window, the ceremony could look very different. The runtime debates, the play-off music, the pressure to trim categories—those were all network concerns. YouTube doesn't have the same limitations, which opens the door for AMPAS to potentially rethink what the show actually looks like.
Looking ahead… Expect the 100th Oscars in 2028 to be ABC's grand farewell. After that, Hollywood's biggest night goes fully digital.
INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
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WIDESHOT
🎬 Barstool Sports, Warner Bros., and AI trailers…
Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
🎙️ Netflix is adding Barstool to its roster. The streamer announced a multiyear deal with Barstool Sports, the bro-centric sports media company, to bring video versions of three podcasts ('Pardon My Take,' 'The Ryen Russillo Show,' and 'Spittin Chiclets') to Netflix in early 2026. The video episodes will be exclusive to Netflix and pulled from YouTube, while audio versions remain widely available. It's the third such deal in two months, following partnerships with Spotify and iHeartMedia, as Netflix tries to compete with YouTube's dominance in video podcasting. Worth noting: all three of these shows are sports-focused, helping Netflix create a talk ecosystem around its broader push into live events like NFL games and WWE.
🎞️ WB wants that Neon magic. Warner Bros. is launching a new contemporary film label led by former Neon executives, including Christian Parkes, the marketing architect behind 'Longlegs' and 'Parasite.' They’ll focus on 2-3 smartly budgeted films per year targeting Gen Z with surgical, digitally native campaigns, essentially the same approach that turned Neon's micro-budget fare into cultural moments ('Longlegs' did $100M+ on a $10M budget). Theaters have been starving for non-tentpole product all year, so the venture, under Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy's WB Motion Picture Group, is partly an answer to exhibitors' pleas for more variety. Expect a name by Sundance.
💻 The AI trailer mills just got shut down. YouTube terminated two channels, Screen Culture and KH Studio, that used AI to create fake movie trailers, racking up 2M+ subscribers and 1B+ views. For years, the channels gamed the algorithm, flooding feeds with deepfaked actors and misleading titles that siphoned views and ad dollars from studios. Screen Culture's AI trailer for 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' pulled more views than some of Disney's official trailers. YouTube axed the channels for violating its misleading-metadata policies, not at studios’ request. Ironically, WBD and Sony had quietly asked YouTube to redirect ad revenue their way rather than demanding takedowns.
LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️
Paramount adds Rupert Grint, Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin and Charlie Murphy to Johnny Depp’s cast in ‘Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol.’ (more)
Netflix picked up an untitled rom-com spec from Larry Stuckey and Joanna Leeds, with Erin and Sara Foster producing. (more)
Netflix is teaming Matthew McConaughey and Zoe Saldaña for romantic caper ‘Positano,’ with Daniel Roher directing and Working Title producing. (more)
Sony has tapped Paul King to direct a feature film adaptation of the collectible toy phenomenon ‘Labubu.’ (more)
Neon set a January 23, 2026, limited theatrical release for acclaimed animated feature ‘Arco,’ followed by a nationwide rollout on January 30. (more)
Netflix has set holiday rom-com ‘In a Holidaze,’ starring Maddie Ziegler, Rob Lowe, Graham Phillips, and Elias Kacavas, from Alloy Entertainment. (more)
Neon has picked up SXSW breakout ‘It Ends,’ a Gen Z road thriller, for a 2026 theatrical release. (more)
TV Development 📺
CBS ordered a comedy pilot for ‘Regency,’ a multi-cam sitcom from ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and ‘Young Sheldon’ writer Tara Hernandez. (more)
Apple TV and Legendary greenlit a ‘Monsterverse’ prequel starring Wyatt Russell, with Joby Harold as showrunner. (more)
Apple TV has ordered ‘Beat the Reaper,’ a new dramedy series starring Will Poulter and showrun by Sam Catlin. (more)
Netflix has ordered ‘So Far Gone,’ a drama series adaptation from showrunner Mark Bomback. (more)
Business 🤝
Warner Bros. Discovery told staff that the regulatory review of Netflix’s proposed acquisition has officially begun, following the board’s unanimous rejection of Paramount’s cash bid. (more)
Netflix has hired ESPN’s Elle Duncan as its first sports anchor to front live sports and event programming. (more)
Other News 🚨
SAG-AFTRA told members that its next contract negotiations will begin earlier than usual, starting in February 2026. (more)
Sony is acquiring majority control of ‘Peanuts’ in a $457M deal that gives the company an 80% stake in the iconic franchise. (more)
Illinois has expanded its film and TV tax credits, boosting incentives for in-state labor and vendors while extending the program through 2039. (more)
California Film Tax Credits awarded incentives to 28 films. (more)
RELEASE RADAR
📅 This week’s new releases…
🎥 THEATRICAL
Avatar: Fire and Ash: Epic sci-fi sequel from James Cameron, starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña.
David: Animated biblical musical drama featuring the voices of Phil Wickham and Lauren Daigle.
The Housemaid: Psychological thriller directed by Paul Feig and starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried.
Is This Thing On?: (Limited) Comedy-drama directed by Bradley Cooper, starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants: Fourth theatrical film in the franchise, featuring Mark Hamill as the Flying Dutchman.
📺 STREAMING
Emily in Paris: (Netflix) S5 of the romantic comedy-drama series starring Lily Collins.
Fallout: (Prime Video) S2 of the post-apocalyptic drama series based on the video game franchise, starring Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins.
🔮 BOX OFFICE PREVIEW: 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' is tracking for a $95-105M domestic opening, below 'Way of Water's’ $134M but with fewer days before Christmas to work with. Like with the previous installments, the real test is whether it legs out into the new year. As for the counter-programming battle: 'The Housemaid,' 'David,' and 'SpongeBob' are all eyeing the $20-25M range.
VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers
MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest viral moments
That's all, folks! If a friend forwarded this to you, you know what to do—hit subscribe and get your own copy. ⬇️📧
Have a great weekend!
-The Dailies Team