🎬 Underdog Wins

👋 Good morning! The lights of French cinema dimmed a little yesterday as we lost one of its brightest stars. Alain Delon, the brooding heartthrob who defined cool in classics like ‘Le Samouraï’ and ‘Purple Noon,’ has taken his final curtain call at 88. With his icy blue eyes and unmatched charisma, Delon wasn't just a pretty face—he was a force of nature who defined an era of European cinema.

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🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Netflix Says Bonjour to Google

• Venu Sports Gets Blocked

• 4DX Has Its Moment

• 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 🎟️

1. 👽 Alien: Romulus: $41.5M domestic opening, $108.2M global debut. Strong start for the franchise reboot, earning a B+ CinemaScore and positive reviews (81% critics, 87% audience on Rotten Tomatoes). Second-highest opening in the 45-year-old franchise.

2. 🦸‍♂️ Deadpool & Wolverine: $29M domestic weekend (-46%), $545.8M domestic total, $1.14B global. Now the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, surpassing several MCU entries globally.

3. ❤️ It Ends With Us: $24M domestic weekend (-52%), $97.7M domestic total. Solid hold in its second weekend, on track to become the highest-grossing non-sequel of 2024 so far.

4. 🌪️ Twisters: $9.8M domestic weekend (-35%), $238.4M domestic total. Continues to perform strongly, especially in the U.S. market.

5. 👧 Coraline (re-release): $8.4M domestic weekend, $11.3M over 4 days.

6. 🟡 Despicable Me 4: $6M domestic weekend (-25%), $340.4M domestic total. Holding well in its 7th weekend.

7. 🎭 Trap: $3.4M domestic weekend (-48%), $35.2M domestic total.

8. 💭 Inside Out 2: $3.2M domestic weekend (-34%), $642.2M domestic total. Pixar's sequel continues its strong run.

9. 🎮 Borderlands: $2.4M domestic weekend (-73%), $13.5M domestic total. Significant drop in its second weekend for the video game adaptation.

10. ✏️ Harold and the Purple Crayon: $1M domestic weekend (-67%), $15.7M domestic total. Struggling in its third weekend.

Total box office: The box office is sizzling this August, with the weekend total hitting $135M, up 39% from last year. At this rate, August 2024 could be the biggest since 2016. Disney's dominating the summer, accounting for 42% of the domestic box office across all its labels (including 20th Century Studios). This success is led by R-rated hits like 'Alien: Romulus' and 'Deadpool & Wolverine.' Even indies are cashing in, with 'Longlegs' crossing $100M globally. The bottom line? Mature content is making bank, proving R-rated films are hot tickets right now.

📺🛍️ Netflix is transforming your favorite shows into virtual shopping malls, starting with ‘Emily in Paris.’ In a groundbreaking partnership, Google has become the show's title sponsor for all seasons—a first for Netflix's library content. But here’s the cool part: viewers can now snap pics of Emily’s outfits using Google Lens and instantly be taken to websites where they can shop similar styles. It’s like having the costume department at your fingertips. The collab will also serve up 15-second spots starring Lily Collins and clever pause ads that encourage you to whip out Google Lens when you hit that pause button. While Netflix has dipped its toes in co-marketing before (remember that Stranger Things x Domino's collab?), this marks its biggest plunge into shoppable content since launching ads two years ago.

📺🏈 A federal judge just blocked the launch of Venu Sports—a joint venture between Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Disney. The underdog in this battle, Fubo, a sports-focused streaming service, took the media giants to court. Fubo argued that Venu would create a sports streaming monopoly, potentially driving them out of business. The judge agreed, citing antitrust concerns and the likelihood of Fubo facing severe, irreparable harm. This ruling means Venu's fall launch is off the table, at least for now. The legal battle is likely far from over—Fox, Disney, and WBD are planning to appeal the decision. Meanwhile, Fubo's stock surged 16% on the news, though it's still down 32% over the past year.

🎬🌪️ 4DX, the cinema format that turns your movie seat into a theme park attraction, is having its moment in the spotlight. Thanks to ‘Twisters’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ 4DX scored its biggest back-to-back weekends ever earlier this month, with ‘Twisters’ raking in 15% of its opening weekend take and ‘Deadpool’ scoring even higher. Theater owners are scrambling to add more 4DX screens to keep up with demand. With only 64 screens in the U.S. (compared to 727 internationally), there's tons of room for growth. The big question: Will 4DX be the next IMAX, or is it destined to go the way of 3D (Avatar notwithstanding)? Either way, it's clear that Hollywood and theaters are betting big on 4DX to keep moviegoers coming back for more.

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Development 🗒️

• Eugene and Dan Levy will make history as the first father-son duo to host the 2024 Emmy Awards on ABC. (more)

• Netflix has acquired ‘State of Silence,’ a documentary executive produced by Diego Luna. (more)

• New Regency and Maximum Effort are adapting the novel ‘Eight Perfect Murders’ into a feature film, with Harry Bradbeer set to direct. (more)

• ‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1,’ Kevin Costner’s Civil War epic, will begin streaming on Max on Aug. 23 following its underwhelming theatrical debut. (more)

• Derek Connolly has been chosen to script the live-action adaptation of Sega’s ‘Eternal Champions’ video game for Skydance. (more)

• Colin Firth is in early talks to join Steven Spielberg’s untitled event film, set for a May 2026 release by Amblin and Universal. (more)

• Roadside Attractions has acquired the SXSW double-award-winning film ‘Bob Trevino Likes It,’ starring Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo. (more)

• Nicole Scherzinger, Liam Payne, and Kelly Rowland will judge Netflix’s new music competition ‘Building the Band,’ hosted by AJ McLean. (more)

✅ Renewed & Canceled ❌

• ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ is renewed for S17 at MTV. (more)

• ‘Dark Matter’ is renewed for S2 at Apple TV+. (more)

• ‘My Lady Jane’ is cancelled by Prime Video after S1. (more)

• ‘Buying Beverly Hills’ is cancelled by Netflix after S2. (more)

Business 🤝

• Edgar Bronfman Jr. is reportedly preparing a bid for Paramount Global, potentially challenging Skydance’s existing acquisition deal. (more)

• Channing Dungey will succeed Kathleen Finch as head of Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks following Finch’s retirement. (more)

• S&P Global has downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery’s outlook to negative, citing continued decline in linear TV and weaknesses in the studio segment. (more)

• Jimmy Kimmel has ended his investment partnership with Brent Montgomery’s Wheelhouse. (more)

• Range Media Partners has formed a strategic partnership with Kenan Thompson and John Ryan Jr.’s Artists For Artists. (more)

Other News 🚨

• The Animation Guild and Hollywood studios have extended negotiations into September after failing to reach an agreement. (more)

• Meet our friends! Unlock a treasure trove of other free newsletters that our readers are raving about. (more)