🎬 Take It or Leave It

👋 Good morning! Neon's latest marketing stunt was brilliantly bare-bones: an 'Anora' merch pop-up over the weekend that was just... the trunk of an Escalade at a Melrose auto shop. The Palme d'Or winner's unconventional retail strategy drew lines down the block.

Whether you're a seasoned subscriber or a new arrival, we're thrilled to have you here. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we'll deliver the most important industry scoops directly to your inbox.

🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Fixed Fees Hit Hollywood

• Hollywood Feels Bullish on Mergers

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

• Call Sheet: The week ahead

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Martini Shot 🍸

But first, let’s take a look at what happened at the box office this past weekend!

BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN
🎟️ ‘Venom 3’ leads, niche films crash the top 20…

1. 🦂 Venom: The Last Dance: $16.2M domestic weekend (-37%), $114.8M domestic total, $394.2M global. Third straight #1 finish, a first for the franchise. Still tracking behind previous Venom films but approaching ‘Sony's Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ ($400.5M) as their biggest 2024 release.

2. 🎄 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: $11.1M domestic opening (includes $2.2M from early previews). Holiday film scores with audiences (A CinemaScore, 98% RT audience score).

3. 😈 Heretic: $11M domestic opening. Hugh Grant's horror turn draws critics (93% RT) but divides audiences (C+ CinemaScore). A24's latest genre offering outperforms recent releases like ‘MaXXXine.’

4. 🤖 The Wild Robot: $6.65M domestic weekend (-11%), $130.9M domestic total. Showing impressive legs in its seventh frame.

5. 😱 Smile 2: $5M domestic weekend (-26%), $60.5M domestic total. Horror sequel maintaining steady performance in its fourth weekend.

6. ⛪ Conclave: $4.1M domestic weekend (-19%), $21.5M domestic total. Focus Features drama showing strong holds in week three.

7. 💃 Anora: $2.45M domestic weekend (+36%), $7.2M domestic total. NEON's expansion to 1,104 theaters pays off.

8. 🏠 Here: $2.42M domestic weekend (-50%), $9.5M domestic total. Steep drop in sophomore frame.

9. 💕 We Live in Time: $2.21M domestic weekend (-36%), $21.8M domestic total. A24's romance holding steady in week five.

10. 🔪 Terrifier 3: $1.47M domestic weekend (-54%), $53.3M domestic total. Horror threequel still adding to impressive cume.

The big picture: Major studios dodged post-election weekend entirely, creating a box office where niche films ruled the top 20. The weekend totaled a modest $65.1M, down 26% from 2023's 'The Marvels' opening. Only five studio films made the top 20—the rest was a genre-spanning mix of indie darlings ('Anora' expanding to $2.45M), anime ('Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom' at $1.16M), horror hits ('Heretic'), and holiday charm ('The Best Christmas Pageant Ever'). While smaller films are thriving in this vacuum, the studios are about to create the opposite problem by cramming 'Wicked', 'Gladiator II', and 'Moana 2' into one Thanksgiving feast.

CLOSEUP
💰 'The Pitt' is telling actors to take it or leave it…

Max's upcoming hospital drama ‘The Pitt’ is causing a stir in Hollywood—and not just because of that lawsuit claiming it copied ER.

The scoop: Usually, when actors join a big streaming show, their agents typically spend weeks haggling over every dollar of their client's paycheck. But ‘The Pitt’ is trying something different: except for Noah Wyle, who stars and executive produces, the show's regular cast members get fixed salaries of either $50K or $35K per episode—no negotiation allowed.

Why it matters: With 15 episodes and 10 regular cast members who need to be on set daily, 'The Pitt' is bigger than most streaming shows—making predictable costs crucial. At a time when TV networks are tightening belts (goodbye, 'Friends'-style million-dollar paydays), this fixed-fee approach:

• Makes casting faster

• Keeps budgets predictable

• Works well for large casts

Looking ahead: While this isn't industry standard (yet), ‘The Pitt’ could be the template for future "reasonably priced" streaming dramas. HBO/Max boss Casey Bloys is already pointing to it as the model for Max's drama strategy. Other shows testing fixed fees for guest stars:

• ‘Accused’ (Fox): $150K per lead guest

• ‘Elsbeth’ (CBS): $100K for special guests

• ‘Poker Face’ (Peacock): $75K (down from $150K in Season 1)

The bigger picture: This is part of TV's post-peak reality check. While top stars can still command big bucks, supporting players are facing a new normal. With fewer series-regular roles available and budgets shrinking, fixed-fee models might be the future of TV casting—whether actors like it or not.

CLOSEUP
🤝 Hollywood's feeling bullish on mergers...

Media chiefs are dusting off their dealmaking playbooks after Trump's election win, betting big on a more merger-friendly future. Under Biden's watch, M&A activity hit the brakes hard—the FTC and DOJ filed a record-breaking 50 merger challenges in 2022, making even the bravest dealmakers think twice.

The perfect storm pushing companies toward deals is intensifying daily: Legacy studios are drowning in debt while their once-reliable linear TV business hits new lows. Many streaming services continue to burn cash without finding profitability, and cable networks are desperately seeking exits—just look at Comcast exploring a spinoff of its cable assets. Meanwhile, smaller streamers are fighting an increasingly impossible battle against Netflix's dominance.

Who's saying what:

• Wall Street insiders say half of media CEOs were just waiting for the election to start dealmaking.

• WBD's David Zaslav is anticipating a return to Trump-era merger friendliness.

• Sinclair's Chris Ripley feels "a cloud lifting" over the industry.

• Nexstar's crew is chomping at the bit for "modernized" regulations.

The dealmaking environment is about to get supercharged with interest rates expected to drop, making it cheaper to finance big deals. Big Tech might crash the party too—insiders hint YouTube is looking to snag a studio to beef up its content arsenal.

The catch? This merger wave might spell trouble for the work force: merged companies typically slash "redundant" jobs, combine departments, shrink production slates, and cut content budgets in search of profits.

Looking ahead: With pent-up deal energy ready to burst and interest rates dropping, 2025 could be the year Hollywood's map gets completely redrawn.

INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
An answer to every “What’s for dinner?” question…

Imagine coming home and not having to worry about “What’s for dinner?” Instead, you can enjoy a freshly cooked meal and never have to compromise on quality, taste, or your time. (We think you deserve all those good things.)

Tovala is the revolutionary meal delivery service + smart oven that’s making breakfast, lunch, dinner—pretty much every meal—easier than ever. With Tovala, you can enjoy chef-crafted meals that arrive fresh to your door and skip your weekly—or daily—trips to the store.

Plus, every meal cooks like magic with the scan of a QR code in just 25 minutes and with only one minute of prep. Get started now with your Tovala Smart Oven for just $49 at Tovala.com.

LAST LOOKS
Development 🗒️

• Ridley Scott and Paul Mescal are reuniting for ‘The Dog Stars,’ a post-apocalyptic thriller at 20th Century, set to begin filming next spring. (more)

• Anne Hathaway and Zendaya are set to star in Christopher Nolan’s next film alongside Matt Damon and Tom Holland. (more)

• Shakira returns as Gazelle in ‘Zootopia 2,’ bringing a new look, song, and dance moves to the animated sequel. (more)

• Kellan Lutz and Cam Gigandet reunite in action-thriller ‘Desert Dawn’ as Saban Films secures North American and UK distribution rights. (more)

• Daniel Zolghadri is in talks to star as an orphaned millionaire hunting his parents’ ghosts in the sci-fi horror film ‘The Temple.’ (more)

• Phil Dunster of ‘Ted Lasso’ fame is set to star alongside Steve Carell in an untitled HBO comedy series from creator Bill Lawrence. (more)

• Lionsgate UK secures ‘Belly of the Beast,’ starring Ben Stiller and Colin Farrell, for UK and Ireland release. (more)

• Andra Day joins S2 of Disney+’s ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ as Athena. (more)

• Cineverse is reviving the cult horror classic ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ with a reimagined Santa slasher, aiming for a late 2025 release. (more)

• Disney announces ‘Ice Age 6’ for 2026, reuniting Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, and John Leguizamo. (more)

• CBS is developing ‘Overstepping,’ a multi-cam comedy from Lauren Ashley Smith and Damon Wayans Jr. (more)

• Taylor Sheridan’s horse-riding competition series ‘The Last Cowboy’ returns for S5 on CMT. (more)

• Melissa Barrera will star in ‘In the Cradle of Granite,’ a Western thriller directed by Ariel Escalante in his English-language debut. (more)

• Paramount acquires ‘Freediver,’ a documentary following champion Alexey Molchanov’s intense 2023 quest for freediving records. (more)

Business 🤝

• AMC Networks acquires full ownership of ‘BBC America’ for $42M, taking complete operational control. (more)

• CAA implements layoffs in its TV and film departments amid year-end evaluations and under new ownership by Artémis. (more)

• Paramount+ reaches profitability for the second consecutive quarter, adding 3.5M subscribers to hit 72M globally. (more)

CALL SHEET
📅 The week ahead…

• THURSDAY: Disney earnings call.

• FRIDAY: Netflix streams Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson.

VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers

MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest trends & viral moments