🎬 Major Studio Problem

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👋 Good morning! Is Netflix's British crime drama ‘Adolescence’ really filmed in one continuous take per episode? Yes, it actually was! Cinematographer Matthew Lewis confirmed there's "no stitching of takes together" in the four-episode series. The crew even had to attach a drone mid-shot for the episode 2 finale. Most impressive might be newcomer Owen Cooper, who delivers an emotional interrogation performance in episode 3—all in a single take. His secret? Being so new to acting that he didn't realize how impossible the task should have been.

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:

• Apple’s Billion-Dollar Streaming Hobby

• CA’s Major Studio Problem

• ‘Electric State’ is DOA

• Warner Bros.’ Reshuffle

• 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
 🤳 Apple TV+ is leaking cash (but doesn’t care)…

Since its launch in 2019, Apple has kept its streaming service's numbers shrouded in mystery, leaving analysts to speculate about its true size and financial health. But now, according to a new report from The Information, we finally have some numbers: despite amassing 45M subscribers, Apple TV+ is losing money… a lot of money. Reportedly to the tune of $1B. Some key revelations:

• Apple TV+ accounts for less than 1% of total streaming viewership despite its subscriber base

• It’s just a small part of Apple's Services division, which raked in $96B last year

• Even award-winning hits like ‘Severance’ and Oscar winner ‘CODA’ haven't moved the profitability needle

• Apple pumped the brakes on theatrical ambitions after box office bombs ‘Argylle’ and ‘Fly Me to the Moon.’

Meanwhile, most streamers not named Netflix have struggled with profitability in recent years, but the tide is turning:

• Netflix reported a staggering $1.87B profit in Q4 2024 (the only streamer that's been consistently profitable)

• Disney's streaming family finally posted a $293M profit in Q1 2025, after years of bleeding billions

• Warner Bros. Discovery's Max earned $409M in Q4 2024, a remarkable turnaround after years in the red

• Even Peacock is narrowing losses to $372M quarterly (still underwater, but paddling harder)

This turnaround shows just how brutal the streaming economics have been—it's taken nearly a decade for anyone but Netflix to crack the profitability code.

The big picture: Apple's playing a different game entirely. While traditional media companies must achieve streaming profitability or face potential extinction, Apple can treat TV+ as a $1B marketing expense that helps sell more shiny gadgets and keeps you in their ecosystem. For context, that's pocket change for a company that hauled in $124.3B last quarter alone. Amazon's playing the same game, using Prime Video to drive retail subscriptions rather than stand on its own.

Looking ahead... While Apple TV+ remains far from the biggest streamer, its unique financial position allows it to play the long game. Apple can greenlight ambitious prestige projects that might never exist in a pure profit-driven model. Time will tell if this patience helps Apple grow its viewership—or if streaming remains just an expensive hobby for the tech giant.

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WIDESHOT
🎬 Tax credits, ‘The Electric State,’ and Warner Bros. …

🎬💸 California's Hollywood retention plan has a major studio problem. The Golden State just handed out tax credits to a record 51 film projects, but here's the kicker—46 went to independent films while major studios are increasingly filming elsewhere. This windfall for indie filmmakers means unprecedented opportunity for smaller productions across California, with shooting planned in several locations from Oakland to San Diego. Yet despite pumping $578M into the economy and creating nearly 6,500 jobs, California's losing bigger studios to other states and countries with fatter incentives. Only three major studio projects made the cut: an untitled film from the 'Everything Everywhere' directors (NBCUniversal), 'Business Women' (20th Century), and 'Cut Off' (Warner Bros.). Looking ahead, Governor Newsom plans to double the state's tax credit cap from $330M to $750M to lure back Hollywood's heavyweights.

🤖📉 Netflix's $320M ‘The Electric State’ is DOA. The sci-fi epic from the Russo Brothers, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, managed just 25.2M views in its debut week despite topping Netflix’s charts. For perspective, that's less than half the viewership of ‘Red Notice’ (75.6M) and even the directors' previous effort ‘The Gray Man’ (41.2M). Despite being Netflix's most expensive original ever, the film barely outperformed the critically-panned ‘Rebel Moon’ movies. The flop confirms a crucial industry lesson: astronomical budgets don't guarantee streaming success. Meanwhile, smaller films like Brown's own ‘Damsel’ (made for just $60M) have delivered much stronger viewership relative to cost. The underwhelming performance will likely accelerate Netflix's shift away from mega-budget spectacles under new film chief Dan Lin, favoring mid-range, star-driven projects with better ROI. While the Russos will bounce back with Marvel's ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ the real casualty may be future risk-taking on original, non-franchise content.

🎬📅 Warner Bros. is playing musical chairs with release dates. With CinemaCon just weeks away, WB is frantically reshuffling its calendar after ‘Mickey 17's’ underwhelming performance. Under Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, the studio has placed massive financial bets on auteur-driven projects. Now, industry insiders see this calendar shake-up as a reactive scramble to salvage their high-risk strategy. At CinemaCon, the studio will need to project confidence for theater owners, whose premium screens are essential for recouping these enormous investments in a still-recovering theatrical market. Here are the major changes:

• ‘Weapons’ (dir. Zach Cregger) → Moves UP from Jan. 2026 to Aug. 8, 2025, replacing Paul Thomas Anderson’s more challenging film in this commercial slot

• ‘One Battle After Another’ (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) → Moves from Aug. 2025 to Sep. 26, 2025

  • Repositioned for fall festival circuit and potential awards consideration

  • Extra time allows for IMAX and VistaVision format preparations

  • More breathing room to figure out marketing for this difficult-to-describe project

• ‘The Bride!’ (dir. Maggie Gyllenhaal) → Delayed from Sep. 2025 to Mar. 6, 2026

  • Strategic distancing from Netflix's ‘Frankenstein’ with Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi

  • WB claims spring break positioning, but industry sees classic "problem movie" postponement

• ‘The Cat in the Hat’ → Moves UP one week from Mar. 6 to Feb. 27, 2026

• ‘Flowervale Street’ (dir. David Robert Mitchell) → Delayed from Mar. 2026 to Aug. 14, 2026

LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• ‘Jason Bourne’ is searching for a new home as the franchise rights leave Universal, with Skydance, Apple, and Netflix in the mix. (more)

• Sydney Sweeney will star in and produce ‘I Pretended to Be a Missing Girl,’ a Warner Bros. thriller based on a viral Reddit story. (more)

• Regé-Jean Page will star in and produce a new adaptation of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ through Department M studio. (more)

• ‘Split Fiction,’ the hit co-op game, is at the center of a bidding war for its film adaptation rights. (more)

• Jonah Hill is set to write, direct, and star in ‘Cut Off’ for Warner Bros., a comedy about wealthy siblings who get cut off by their parents. (more)

• Robert De Niro will return for ‘Meet the Parents 4’ film, joining Ben Stiller and the original cast with John Hamburg directing. (more)

• Disney and Pixar are developing ‘Coco 2’ with original director Lee Unkrich returning, scheduled for theatrical release in 2029. (more)

TV Development 📺

• Fox is developing ‘Almost Paradise,’ a Blue Lagoon-meets-’Gilligan’s Island’ sitcom starring Brooke Shields and David Spade. (more)

• Lionsgate Television is adapting Alexis Soloski’s bestselling thriller ‘Here in the Dark’ into a series. (more)

• Mike Barker will direct and executive produce the first three episodes of Hulu’s ‘The Testaments,’ the sequel to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’ (more)

• Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz in talks to helm a live-action ‘Power Rangers’ series for Disney+. (more)

• Ken Jeong will star in and executive produce ‘How Can We Help,’ a Fox comedy inspired by Barbara Boxer. (more)

• Natalie Dormer will star as Sarah Ferguson alongside Mia McKenna-Bruce as royal aide Jane Andrews in drama ‘The Lady.’ (more)

Renewed & Canceled ✅ ❌

• ‘School Spirits’ is renewed for S3 by Paramount+. (more)

Business 🤝

• David Novak will chair Comcast’s cable spinoff, SpinCo, alongside CEO Mark Lazarus. (more)

• Joel Meyer has been promoted to EVP of worldwide production at Lionsgate Television, replacing Gary Goodman. (more)

• Dave Andron, producer of ‘Justified and Snowfall,’ has signed an overall deal with FX Productions to develop new projects. (more)

• We know the truth—you never read the script. Now, you don’t have to. Upload any script PDF, press play, and listen on the go. (more)*

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RELEASE RADAR
📅 What to watch this weekend?

🎥 THEATRICAL

• The Alto Knights: Barry Levinson’s mob drama starring De Niro.

• Ash: Sci-fi horror thriller directed by musician Flying Lotus starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul.

• Disney’s Snow White: Remake starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot.

• Lock: Action horror thriller starring Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins.

• Magazine Dreams: Drama starring Jonathan Majors directed by Elijah Bynum after a long-delayed release from Sundance 2023.

📺 STREAMING

• Happy Face: (Paramount+) True crime series starring Dennis Quaid as the "Happy Face Killer."

• O’Dessa: (Hulu) Post-apocalyptic musical drama from director Geremy Jasper starring Sadie Sink.

• The Residence: (Netflix) Murder mystery series set in the White House starring Uzo Aduba and Randall Park.

• Wolf King: (Netflix) Animated fantasy series based on Curtis Jobling's Wereworld novels.

🔮 BOX OFFICE PREVIEW

Disney's long-awaited live-action ‘Snow White’ is expected to revive the March box office with a $45-55M domestic opening despite PR challenges and controversy surrounding Zegler's casting and comments. Two smaller releases enter the fray: Robert De Niro's gangster drama ‘The Alto Knights’ and sci-fi thriller ‘Ash’ debut with modest expectations of $3-5M and under $3M respectively. Last weekend's leaders ‘Novocaine,’ ‘Black Bag,’ and ‘Mickey 17’ will battle for third place in the $3-4M range.

VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers

MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest viral moments