🎬 Write On! 🤝

👋 Good morning! Welcome aboard the Dailies.

Whether you're a seasoned subscriber or a new arrival, we're thrilled to have you here. Twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, we'll deliver the most important industry scoops directly to your inbox.

🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Closeup: WGA Makes a Tentative Deal

• Streaming Residuals Making Cents or Sense?

• Prime Video Gets Ads

• Social Media Creators In a Bind

• 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 🎟️

The Nun II: Warner Bros.' horror sequel, "The Nun II," continues to lead at the box office, snagging first place again with $8.4M, even though it's underperforming compared to its predecessor. Globally, it has raked in $204.2M with Mexico leading the overseas numbers at $18.7M. 📿🌍

Expend4bles: Lionsgate's action-packed ‘Expend4bles’ struggled on its debut, fetching just $8.3M and opening in second place, falling significantly short of its predecessors' initial figures. 💥📉

A Haunting in Venice: This horror-mystery managed to pull in $6.3M in its second weekend, landing it in third place. It's not matching up to earlier movies in the 'Hercule Poirot' series, but its global earnings of $71.6M are still noteworthy, with the U.K. being its strongest overseas market at $6.1M. 👻🕵️‍♂️

The Equalizer 3: Sony's action sequel sees a dip, collecting $4.7M in its fourth weekend. While it hasn't matched up to its predecessors, it still boasts a respectable global haul of $148.7M, with the U.K. chipping in a nifty $9.1M. 🔫🌐

Write On! ✍🏼
🤝 WGA Makes Tentative Deal 🪧

After a whopping 146-day writers' strike, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have shaken hands on a tentative deal. 🤝 What does that mean? Well, if approved, we might see an end to this historic strike. 🎉

The backdrop? 🕰️ The last week alone was a nail-biter. Discussions took place at the AMPTP’s Sherman Oaks headquarters, with top industry giants like Disney’s Bob Iger and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos making appearances earlier in the week. Ultimately, The AMPTP presented what they called their “best and final” offer to the WGA, signaling the negotiations were reaching a climax.

On Sunday evening, WGA members were notified via email that a tentative deal had been reached.

The next step? This proposed three-year deal still needs a thumbs up from the WGA board/council and members. 👍 And while the specifics about what's in the deal are still under wraps, the WGA promises that it's a solid deal with meaningful gains for the writers.

If the contract language is finalized in time, voting by the WGA Board & Council on the new deal is set to happen on Tuesday. 📅 If approved, the deal will be released for voting by all WGA members.

Don't jump the gun! 🔫 The strike does not officially end until authorized by the WGA leadership. Members have been advised not to get back to work until the green light's given. 🚦

All in all, the industry's waiting with bated breath to see if the WGA members give this deal the nod. Fingers crossed! 🤞

Streaming Residuals: Making Cents or Sense? 📺💸 The show ‘Suits’ recently found its way onto Netflix, and it exploded in viewership. 🚀 Given the timing with the WGA strike for better streaming pay, the show’s success raised eyebrows about how much these writers and actors are pocketing from such successes. Residuals, those extra payments that creatives get when shows are replayed or streamed, seem to be the buzzword. For a streaming giant like Netflix, when they license a show, they pay residuals as a percent of that licensing fee to the creators. For ‘Suits,’ writers might get around $3,629 an episode, while main actors could fetch about $10,887 per episode, split among them. It may sound like a lot, but in the grand scheme of Hollywood, it's pocket change! As streaming becomes more dominant, debates intensify about how writers and actors should be compensated. Some suggest a success-based model and more transparency on viewership data. The big question? How to ensure that as shows rake in the views, the people behind them get their fair share. 💰

Amazon Shakes Up Prime Video with Ads! 📺👀 Amazon's going full steam ahead with introducing ads in Prime Video for series and movies. Starting in 2024, users in multiple countries will notice these "limited" commercials. Remember those ads during Thursday Night Football? That was just the teaser. While Prime members have been enjoying ad-free content for their $14.99 monthly fee, a change is coming. Want to keep it ad-free? That'll cost you an extra $2.99 per month. Why does it matter? Considering the growing trend of FAST (standing for free ad-supported streaming television) services and the push from giants like Disney & Netflix for ad-tier signups, this feels like a major step in making ads the new "normal" for streaming. And with Amazon looking to boost its ad revenue game to compete with big players like Google & Meta, we're seeing the transformation of the streaming experience. 🍿

Social Media Creators in a Hollywood Strike Dilemma 🎬✊ The Hollywood SAG-AFTRA strike, lasting over 70 days, has put a lot of creators in a tight spot. While the main issue between the Screen Actors Guild and studios (like Netflix and Disney) centers on fair pay and AI rights, content creators find themselves caught in the middle. Even if they aren't SAG-AFTRA members, many feel the pressure to support the strike, meaning they can't take up new gigs or promote struck companies. This is super tricky because while some creators want to be in solidarity, they also need to pay their bills and grow their careers. 🤷‍♂️💰38% of U.S. creators affiliated with SAG-AFTRA agree with rejecting new deals, but this number may change if the strike persists. But there's a twist: as the strike continues, advertisers might divert funds from traditional TV to influencer marketing. This could make the creator economy the next big thing in advertising. 📈📺🔄

Development 🗒️

• NBC orders an ‘America’s Got Talent’ spinoff series. (more)

• ‘Divinity,’ a Sundance sci-fi thriller secures a SAG-AFTRA agreement for upcoming theatrical release. (more)

• Paramount is developing 'Superworld' movie based on Yarrow and Carrie Cheney's book series. (more)

• ‘The Last Breath,’ Julian Sands’ final movie, gets a UK deal. (more)

• Peacock cancels previously renewed S2 of ‘Pitch Perfect: Bumper In Berlin’ due to spike-related delays. (more)

Releases 📅

• New ‘Mean Girls’ movie, initially planned for Paramount+, now sets theatrical release on Jan. 12, 2024. (more)

• A24 wrestling drama ‘The Iron Claw,’ starring Zac Efron and Lily James, sets Dec. 22 release and secures SAG interim agreement.(more)

• Emerald Fennell's 'Saltburn' sets early release on Nov 17. (more)

• ‘Smile 2’ sets Oct. 18, 2024 release. (more)

Business 🤝

• Studio Ghibli has been acquired by Nippon TV due to the challenge of finding a successor for legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. (more)

• Warner Bros. Discovery will likely charge an additional $9.99 per month for their upcoming live sports tier on Max. (more)

Other News 🚨

• Usher to headline the 2024 Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show. (more)

• Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, previously VP of Film/TV/Streaming, has been elected unopposed as the WGA East president. (more)

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