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👋 Good morning! Two-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer is adding "national anthem reimagining" to his resume. Saudi Arabia's entertainment chief Turki Al Sheikh has commissioned the 'Dune' composer, fresh off his Dubai Opera performance, to create a new interpretation of the kingdom's anthem, along with 'Arabia'–an original piece celebrating Saudi heritage. Looks like Hollywood's most in-demand composer is trading Arrakis for Arabia.

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:

• Sundance Begins

• Oscar Noms Recap

• 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
🌄 Sundance 2025 begins…

The Sundance Film Festival just opened its doors in snowy Park City for its annual 10-day indie film showcase. But this year's mood is more subdued than usual, as many Hollywood attendees are dealing with the fallout from devastating LA wildfires that forced them from their homes.

What's on deck:

• A slightly trimmed-down lineup with 87 features and 6 TV series

• Less red carpet glamour, more focus on discovering fresh indie talent

• Growing buzz about Sundance potentially relocating after 2026 (Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, and Boulder are in the running)

Drama before day one: The festival lost one of its most talked-about films at the last second. Participant pulled Kahlil Joseph's 'BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions' after finding out he'd reportedly shown critics an unauthorized director’s cut—and even submitted it to Berlin Film Festival without telling them.

Market watch… 👀

Park City's indie crowd is feeling cautiously optimistic after 2024 proved theaters aren't dead yet. Last year flipped some industry assumptions on their head:

• Small deals, big returns: 'Thelma' turned Magnolia's modest $2-3M investment into their biggest hit in 23 years, earning $12.5M and outperforming Netflix's pricier acquisitions

• Streaming isn't always king: Netflix paid $17M for horror film ‘It's What's Inside,’ but it barely cracked their Top 10

• Theatrical still works: IFC bought ‘Late Night With the Devil’ as a streaming play for Shudder, then saw it earn $10M in theaters

Hot tickets catching buyer attention this year:

• ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ - Bill Condon's musical starring J.Lo and Diego Luna in stylized dream sequences

• ‘The Thing with Feathers’ - Benedict Cumberbatch navigates grief and supernatural forces

• 'Train Dreams' - Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones in an epic period piece about railroad workers

• 'Together' - Supernatural body horror with Alison Brie and Dave Franco generating early buzz

• 'Jimpa' - Olivia Colman and John Lithgow in a joyous drama about family bonds

• ‘Last Days’ - ‘Fast & Furious’ director Justin Lin tackles a missionary's fatal journey

• ‘Atropia’ - Alia Shawkat leads this military role-play facility drama

Deal-making in 2025: The days of Netflix throwing around $25M checks in midnight bidding wars are over. Most deals will likely stay in the $2-3M range. But there's an interesting twist: traditional studios like Warner Bros. and Paramount, who've mostly watched from the sidelines lately, are showing new interest in select films.

While Apple and Max might skip this year, keep an eye on rising players like MUBI and Metrograph. The streaming strategy is shifting too—Netflix and Amazon now prefer getting involved early in productions rather than buying finished films. Meanwhile, docs are facing tough times unless they're about sports, music, or true crime—even the acclaimed ones are struggling to find buyers.

CLOSEUP
🏆 Oscar noms have dropped…

Hollywood's biggest morning came a bit late this year—the nominations announcement got pushed back a week because of the LA wildfires. CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang shared that the March 2 ceremony will pay tribute to LA's "beauty and resilience" and shake things up by replacing the usual Best Original Song performances with intimate songwriter stories instead. See the full list of nominations here. 👈👀

Key highlights:

Best Picture: 'Emilia Pérez,' 'The Brutalist,' 'Wicked,' 'A Complete Unknown,' 'Conclave,' 'Dune: Part Two,' 'I'm Still Here,' 'Nickel Boys,' 'The Substance,' 'Anora'

Best Director: Jacques Audiard ('Emilia Pérez'), Brady Corbet ('The Brutalist'), Sean Baker ('Anora'), Coralie Fargeat ('The Substance'), James Mangold ('A Complete Unknown')

Best Actor: Adrien Brody ('The Brutalist'), Timothée Chalamet ('A Complete Unknown'), Colman Domingo ('Sing Sing'), Ralph Fiennes ('Conclave'), Sebastian Stan ('The Apprentice')

Best Actress: Karla Sofía Gascón ('Emilia Pérez'), Demi Moore ('The Substance'), Cynthia Erivo ('Wicked'), Mikey Madison ('Anora'), Fernanda Torres ('I'm Still Here')

Notable snubs & surprises:

• Denis Villeneuve missed Director despite ‘Dune: Part Two’ landing in Best Picture

• Daniel Craig missed Best Actor for ‘Queer’ despite SAG & Globe noms

• ‘Wicked’ scored 10 noms but missed Adapted Screenplay

• Marianne Jean-Baptiste (‘Hard Truths’) shut out of ultra-competitive Best Actress race

• Edward Berger didn't make Director despite ‘Conclave’ landing 8 noms

• Margaret Qualley (‘The Substance’) missed Supporting Actress despite film's strong showing

Distribution scoreboard:

• Netflix - 16 noms

• A24 - 14 noms

• Universal - 13 noms

• Focus Features - 12 noms

• Searchlight - 10 noms

Mark your calendars: Conan O'Brien hosts the ‘97th Academy Awards’ on Sunday, Mar. 2.

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LAST LOOKS
Development 🗒️

• Jon Bernthal joins the star-studded cast of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey.’ (more)

• CBS is developing ‘FBI: CIA,’ a spinoff blending FBI and CIA dynamics. (more)

• Robert Eggers is set to write and direct a sequel to Jim Henson’s ‘Labyrinth’ for TriStar Pictures, reuniting with collaborator Sjón on the project. (more)

• Robert Eggers reunites with Focus Features for ‘Werwulf,’ set for a Christmas 2026 release following the success of ‘Nosferatu.’ (more)

• Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are in talks to revive ‘Devil in the White City,’ adapting Erik Larson’s true-crime classic. (more)

• David Leitch is in talks to direct ‘Ocean’s 14’ for Warner Bros., with George Clooney and Brad Pitt expected to return for the heist sequel. (more)

• William Fichtner, Mikaela Hoover, Seoyeon Jang, and rapper BM join the S2 cast ‘Beef,’ led by Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac. (more)

• Melissa Joan Hart will star in and executive produce Lifetime’s thriller ‘Killing the Competition.’ (more)

• Gina Prince-Bythewood’s adaptation of ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ announces its principal cast, including Viola Davis and Idris Elba. (more)

• Prime Video greenlights ‘Rise of the Empress’ with Gemma Chan, Viola Davis, and Forest Whitaker among its executive producers. (more)

• A feature documentary on Jordan Belfort’s infamous Stratton Oakmont brokerage is in production, exploring its fraudulent rise and fall. (more)

Renewed & Canceled ✅ ❌

• ‘The White Lotus’ is renewed for S4 at HBO. (more)

• ‘Love is Blind’ is renewed through S10 by Netflix. (more)

• ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ will end with S4 at HBO. (more)

Business 🤝

• NBCUniversal’s restructure is official, with Pearlena Igbokwe leading NBC Entertainment and Peacock Scripted, Frances Berwick overseeing Bravo and Peacock Unscripted, and streamlined teams under Donna Langley and Matt Strauss. (more)

• Lionsgate extends its multi-year deal with Starz for exclusive film rights as both studios prepare for a complete separation. (more)

• YouTube star MrBeast has joined a U.S. investor group in a bid to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations ahead of a potential nationwide ban. (more)

• CNN announces a new subscription streaming service as part of a digital pivot, cutting 200 jobs while investing $70M in digital expansion. (more)

Other News 🚨

• The 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival lineup has been released and will showcase 96 films and 16 series. (more)

RELEASE RADAR
📅 What to watch this weekend?

🎥 THEATRICAL

• Flight Risk: Mel Gibson directs Mark Wahlberg in Alaskan hitman thriller.

• Brave the Dark: Jared Harris stars as teacher helping troubled student.

• Presence: Steven Soderbergh's supernatural horror thriller starring Lucy Liu.

📺 STREAMING

• Prime Target (Apple TV+): Math-based conspiracy thriller with Leo Woodall.

• The Night Agent (Netflix): S2 of action series with Gabriel Basso.

• Star Trek: Section 31 (Paramount+): Spy thriller starring Michelle Yeoh.

🔮 BOX OFFICE PREVIEW

Look for ‘Flight Risk’ to nab the top spot with around $12-15M this weekend. The competition's not too fierce, but both ‘Mufasa’ and ‘One of Them Days’ are still hanging in there—each should pull $5-7M as they duke it out for second place. Soderbergh's ghost story ‘Presence’ is tracking for $4-6M, about the same as the inspirational drama ‘Brave the Dark.’ The box office drought continues (we're talking another weekend under $100M total) until ‘Captain America’ shakes things up next month.

VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers

MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest viral moments