🎬 License to Thrill

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🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Licensing Wins Big

• Amazon Takes Bond

• Netflix Bets on Mexico

• MLB and ESPN Break Up

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

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Release Radar: What to watch this weekend

• Martini Shot 🍸

But first, it’s Friday, so let’s take a look at what people were watching this week… 👀

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

CLOSEUP
💰Sharing is caring (and profitable)…

As streaming services rethink their financial playbooks, AMC Networks is using a counterintuitive strategy: sometimes not keeping your hits for yourself is the smarter play. Case in point: As Apple TV+ orders two final seasons of ‘Silo,’ AMC's choice to license the show rather than keep it exclusive to AMC+ is paying off big time.

• AMC made $56M just from licensing ‘Silo’ to Apple in 2023

• Their total licensing revenue hit $277M in 2024, beating their $225M target

• They're projecting $250M from licensing in 2025

• A significant portion comes from Netflix licensing deals

• The "Netflix effect" is real—library episodes on Netflix create buzz for new seasons on AMC's own platforms

What's happening? Mid-sized studios are discovering the high costs of running a streaming service might not be worth it when licensing deals offer steady, predictable returns. It's kind of like finding out your indie coffee shop makes more money selling beans to Starbucks than serving lattes in your own cafe.

• Running your own streaming platform is expensive (Disney burned through $11B before Disney+ finally turned profitable)

• Licensing deals provide steady, predictable revenue

• Bigger platforms can pay top dollar for content that helps them stand out

• Plus, you dodge those pesky marketing and tech infrastructure costs

Looking ahead... With AMC getting ‘The Walking Dead’ rights back in 2027, expect more strategic licensing plays ahead. We might see even more mid-sized studios focus on what they do best—making great content—while being more selective about when to hold 'em and when to license 'em.

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WIDESHOT
🎬 James Bond, Netflix, and Major League Baseball…

🕴️🍸 Amazon's inheriting 007’s license to thrill. In a shocking power shift, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are handing Amazon MGM Studios the creative keys to James Bond through a new joint venture, ending one of Hollywood's most closely-guarded family dynasties. This power transfer has been in Amazon's sights since its $8.5B MGM acquisition in 2022, and solidifies the tech giant as a traditional studio powerhouse with iconic IP in its arsenal. It marks the first time since 1961—when "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman purchased Ian Fleming's novels—that creative decisions won't be family-controlled. Industry veterans worry about "cinematic universe" treatment diluting the franchise that's maintained its prestige through 27 films and five leading men. For Amazon, the challenge becomes balancing Bond's theatrical legacy with streaming-era ambitions. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos is already crowdsourcing casting suggestions for the next 007 on social media. 👇

🌎💰 Netflix is betting big on Mexico as its next major production hub. The streaming giant just pledged $1B over the next four years to transform the country into a powerhouse content factory, including a $2M upgrade to the iconic Churubusco Studios. This isn't just another cost-cutting move—it's a calculated strategy that's been cooking for a decade. Since launching ‘Club de Cuervos’ there 10 years ago (their first-ever series outside the US!), Netflix has exploded from a tiny 30-person Mexican operation to a 400-employee juggernaut with productions spanning 25 Mexican states. The investment has already paid off with global hits like Guillermo del Toro's ‘Pinocchio’ and Iñárritu's ‘Bardo.’ The move mirrors Netflix's Korean content strategy (think ‘Squid Game’) and points to a bigger trend where streaming platforms are building multiple global production epicenters. They’re not just looking for budget-friendly filming spots—they're constructing entire production ecosystems that rival traditional Hollywood infrastructure.

⚾️📺 ESPN and MLB are calling it quits after a nearly 40-year run. Disney's ESPN is ending its TV rights deal with Major League Baseball, highlighting how even long-standing content partnerships face new scrutiny in the streaming era. The network, which shells out roughly $550M yearly for MLB rights, activated its opt-out clause after growing frustrated with MLB's side deals with Apple and Roku that undercut ESPN's investment. The league wasn't thrilled either, complaining about "minimal coverage" outside of live games. As sports rights costs explode, media giants must make tough calls about which properties deliver sufficient bang for their buck. Disney has prioritized its NFL and NBA partnerships, while MLB is confident it can find new suitors quickly, with league commissioner Rob Manfred noting they already have "several interested parties" and expect options within weeks.

LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• Martin Scorsese will direct Dwayne Johnson in a Hawaii-set true crime mob drama, with Emily Blunt and Leonardo DiCaprio producing. (more)

• Kitao Sakurai steps in to direct Legendary’s live-action ‘Street Fighter’ movie, taking over from the Philippou brothers. (more)

• David Leitch and his 87North banner are teaming with Amazon MGM and Imagine Entertainment for a heist action thriller. (more)

• Daniel Craig exits Luca Guadagnino’s WWII-set ‘Sgt. Rock’ at DC Studios, leaving the project in search of a new leading man. (more)

• Magnolia Pictures has acquired Danielle Deadwyler’s action-thriller ‘40 Acres,’ a TIFF breakout film set for a summer theatrical release.(more)

• Mahershala Ali will star in Bassam Tariq’s ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,’ a new film for Amazon MGM Studios’ Orion Pictures. (more)

• Jack O’Connell joins Legendary’s next ‘Monsterverse’ film, starring alongside Kaitlyn Dever and Dan Stevens. (more)

• Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat are set to lead ‘The Wrong Girls,’ a Neon comedy with Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, and LaKeith Stanfield. (more)

TV Development 📺

• Erin & Sara Foster team up with Tinx to adapt her novel ‘Hotter in the Hamptons’ into a TV comedy for 20th Television. (more)

• Netflix is expanding the ‘Extraction’ universe with a new series starring Omar Sy, with AGBO and showrunner Glen Mazzara at the helm. (more)

• ABC has ordered ‘9-1-1: Nashville,’ a new spinoff set in Tennessee, for the 2025-26 season from Ryan Murphy, Tim Minear, and Rashad Raisani. (more)

• Marvel has paused development on ‘Nova,’ ‘Strange Academy,’ and ‘Terror, Inc.’ as part of its shift to a more selective TV production strategy. (more)

• Claire Danes reunites with ‘My So-Called Life’ creator Winnie Holzman for ‘The Applebaum Curse,’ a new HBO drama about a dysfunctional family. (more)

• Olivia Colman will star in and executive produce a family drama for FX from Sarah Treem, inspired by the Danish series ‘Cry Wolf.’ (more)

• Jason Moore will direct the first two episodes of ‘Elle,’ the ‘Legally Blonde’ prequel series from Amazon MGM Studios. (more)

Renewed & Canceled ✅ ❌

• ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’ is renewed for S4. (more)

• ‘Happy’s Place’ is renewed for S2 on NBC. (more)

• ‘Paradise’ is renewed for S2 at Hulu. (more)

• ‘Jury Duty’ is renewed for S2 at Amazon. (more)

Business 🤝

• Hiro Murai launches Chum Films, a new production company focused on original films and TV. (more)

• Questlove and Black Thought’s Two One Five Entertainment appoints AGBO vet Josh Williams as Director of Scripted Development. (more)

• Sick of the news? Join the other 4M Americans and sign up for 1440 for free today. The best newsletter for unbiased reporting. (more)*

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RELEASE RADAR
📅 What to watch this weekend?

🎥 THEATRICAL

• The Monkey: Stephen King horror-comedy, from director Osgood Perkins.

• The Unbreakable Boy: Bio drama starring Zachary Levi and Patricia Heaton.

📺 STREAMING

• Zero Day: (Netflix) Political thriller series starring Robert De Niro.

• Reacher: (Prime Video) Action thriller starring Alan Ritchson returns for S3.

• 1923: (Paramount+) S2 of the ‘Yellowstone’ prequel series.

• Surface: (Apple TV+) Psychological thriller series returns for S2.

• A Thousand Blows: (Hulu) Period drama from ‘Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight.

🏆 AWARDS SEASON

• Screen Actors Guild Awards: (Netflix) The last major Oscar precursor streams live Sunday at 5pm PT with Kristen Bell hosting.

🔮 BOX OFFICE PREVIEW

This weekend won't set any records, but with ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ holding premium screens and ‘The Monkey’ bringing in horror fans, we're likely looking at a $65-75M overall weekend. The real question is whether ‘Brave New World’ can avoid the dreaded Marvel second-weekend curse that saw recent entries like ‘The Marvels’ (-78%) and ‘Quantumania’ (-70%) take massive dives. Current projections suggest a better hold, but stay tuned!

VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers

MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest trends & viral moments