Showbiz Sandbox

In the midst of the summer entertainment news doldrums, as Hollywood laments a fading (for now) box office, along comes Pixar with “Inside Out 2.” The sequel earned nearly $300 million in its opening weekend proving, once again, that all the industry really needs for audiences to head back to movie theaters is… well, movies. […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 659: Hollywood Continues To Turn Itself Inside Out appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The general consensus among attendees was that, unlike last year, the 2024 Cannes Film Festival was not one of its strongest editions. Few of the selections made a huge impact and, indeed, there were a few titles that left festival goers scratching their heads. Yet, it seemed more indicative of a general malaise affecting the […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 658: Searching for Winners at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Streaming services seem to have settled on engagement as the metric by which to measure the success of a series or movie or even the platform itself. However, the industry has yet to decide a method for how to measure and report such figures in a consistent way. Some services publish random viewership figures citing […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 657: New Streaming Business Models Require New Measurement Tools appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Two recent opinion pieces stirred up some heated debate in the book publishing business. One insists no one buys books anymore. The other says the proliferation of book roundup lists is a bunch of nonsense. One is very wrong, even when it's right. The other is right, but for the wrong reasons. Michael is our […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 656: Yes, People Still Buy Books appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Netflix first quarter earnings report showed growth in all areas from subscribers, to revenue and income. But with Netflix clearly dominating competitors and entering a mature market, the streaming giant will no longer provide subscriber figures on a regular basis. Instead, Netflix will concentrate on profit and the amount of time each of their 270 […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 655: Netflix Stops Sweating (and Reporting) Subscriber Growth appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

CinemaCon, the annual gathering of cinema operators in Las Vegas, was filled with anxiety this year thanks to a lack of wide releases due to the recent labor strikes. However, most Hollywood studios showed up with a few movie stars to hawk an increasing number of big titles due later in the year and into […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 654: CinemaCon Promotes A Bright Future for Movie Theatres appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The monstrous global box office opening of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” may have been a surprise to film critics or anyone paying attention to industry tracking in advance of its release, but it surely proves that if you put movies in movie theaters, audiences will show up. Especially if those theaters offer premium […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 653: Godzilla and Kong, Once Again, Prove Movie Theaters Aren't Dead appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The way audiences watch television has changed radically over the past ten years, bet it when, where or how. Nielsen, long the king of TV ratings, is facing competition from upstarts like Comscore. With viewership on mobile and over-the-top devices not always being measured, advertisers are beginning to include social media awareness into account when […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 652: Comscore, Nielsen and the Battle Over TV Ratings appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

In what Rolling Stone magazine has dubbed ChatGPT for music, a new service called Suno is trying to democratic music by using artificial intelligence to allow anyone to create a hit song. With no need to learn how to play an instrument or sing, the latest advances in generative AI are creating tunes with a […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 651: The Next Hit Song May Be Written and Performed by AI appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

As expected, “Oppenheimer” dominated the 96th Academy Awards winning seven categories including Best Actor, Best Picture and, for Christopher Nolan, Best Director. “Barbie” only picked up a single trophy for Best Original Song. Anne Thompson, Indiewire's Editor-at-Large attended this year's Oscar ceremony and joins us to describe what it was like to be in the […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 650: “Oppenheimer” Gives Christopher Nolan His Oscar Moment appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The superhero movie is facing its biggest enemy yet – audience indifference. “Madame Web” is just the latest superhero flick to open to poor reviews and/or bad box office. Entertainment journalist Geoff Boucher, who has covered the comic book world for over two decades and is a bigwig at ComicCon, discusses the declining popularity of […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 649: Hollywood's Superhero Movie Problem appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced their 2024 nominees, including some musical acts previously shortlisted for inclusion. Musician and music writer Sal Nunziato joins host Michael Giltz to argue over which of these acts should be included in the Hall of Fame and why. Plus they give us a rundown of their favorite […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 648: Judging This Year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox are teaming up to deliver a new subscription streaming service that will combine all of their sports programming on a non-exclusive basis. It will have 14 channels including ESPN, ABC, FS1, Fox, TNT and TBS. The surprise announcement has generated more questions than answers, especially over whether any antitrust […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 647: Disney Teams Up For Sports Streaming Service appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

This year's Sundance Film Festival reflected the current state of the contracting industry itself, offering fewer films at fewer venues for fewer in-person attendees. Yet, as festivals like Sundance work toward rekindling post-pandemic financial support, this year's official selections were just as noteworthy as those that have appeared throughout its 40 year history. We'll give […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 646: A Slimmed Down Sundance Still Shines appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Unlike most major streaming services, which allow new subscribers to choose between a more expensive ad-free plan and a cheaper ad-supported tier, Amazon has taken an opt-out approach with Prime. When Prime Video begins streaming ads in late-January one of the biggest streaming services in the world with at least 150 million subscribers, will immediately […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 645: Amazon Prime Video Set To Dominate Advertising Market appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association held its first Golden Globes awards ceremony under a new and supposedly improved organization under new ownership. Organizers scrambled to find both a network to broadcast this year's show, not to mention a host. In the end, the winners weren't surprising with “Oppenheimer” and “Succession” each taking home five, but […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 644: The Golden Globes Lose Their Luster appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Two annual ratings roundups of television viewing in the United States show that audiences for traditional broadcast and linear cable are in serious decline. The list of the 100 most watched broadcast episodes is mostly sports. And the top ranked channels reveal cable isn't even really trying to program their networks anymore. Meanwhile, the domestic […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 643: Linear Television Viewership Sinks to New Lows appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Last week Netflix released a huge data dump detailing the viewership of all its programming for the first six months of 2023. The streaming giant is calling it a victory for transparency. While it's a long way from the granular detail the industry has long sought, it does reveal that almost nobody watches 25% of […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 642: What Netflix Subscribers Really Watch appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

In its third year the Red Sea International Film Festival continues to build on its reputation for programming some of the most engaging and important movies being made in the Middle East. Held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, RSIFF has gone a step further by financially backing productions from the region, which until five years ago […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 641: Red Sea Film Festival Highlights Emerging Film Market appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

If moviegoers have grown tired of endless sequels and franchise reboots, as some will have you believe, then Hollywood studios may be in big trouble. In 2024, a new sequel will be released every other week, including another Godzilla movie, Dune 2, a new Ghostbusters, a new Kung Fu Panda, another Mad Max film, Deadpool […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 640: Hollywood Has Always Been Addicted To Sequels appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Hollywood's dual writers and actors strikes may finally be over, with significant gains in earnings, residuals and AI protections, but the many systemic issues that caused the labor disruption aren't entirely history. As more of the details of the SAG-AFTRA contract become public we take a look at what they mean for actors and the […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 639: Hollywood Deals With Post-Strike Fallout appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

After 118 days the actor's strike finally came to an end as SAG-AFTRA reached an agreement on a new three-year employment contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Entertainment attorney Jonathan Handel joins us to explain all of the major achievements in wages increases, residuals and artificial intelligence protections the union […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 638: What the Actors Won in Their New Contract appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Spotify is changing how it pays out royalties in an effort to deter fraud, demonetize the flood of new music that almost no one listens to and frustrate those gaming the system. None of the changes will alter the amount of money paid out in royalties each year. But Spotify believes the move may add […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 637: Spotify Fighting Fraud With New Payment Plan appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

When Netflix announced its earnings for the third quarter of 2023 it also confirmed that it would be increasing prices for those that don't want to view ads. Amazon recently said it would also be raising the price for the ad-free tier of Prime Video. It turns out these streaming services have discovered they make […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 636: Why Streaming Subscriptions Are Getting More Expensive appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Hollywood studios often try to camouflage the success or failure of their movies. Sometimes they claim a film is unprofitable, yet go on to make several sequels, as Nu Image did with the “Has Fallen” franchise. Other times a studio insists a movie is a modest box office hit despite paying hundreds of millions for […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 635: Deciphering Hollywood Hits and Misses appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Spotify, the music streaming service, is going all in on audiobooks in hopes of attracting and maintaining subscribers. Previously, Spotify offered some audiobooks for sale. Now the company's 220 million premium subscribers get 15 hours of free audiobook listening each month. The service is launching with 150,000 titles and will pay publishers based on consumption. […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 634: Spotify Gets Book Smart appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The Writers Guild of America released details of the new contract they negotiated with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers ending their historic 148 day strike. The 94-page document is filled with big gains for writers in pay and protection from artificial intelligence. It's also a compromise to the deal the WGA initially […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 633: Dissecting the New Writers Guild Contract appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The Writer's Guild of America reached a tentative agreement on a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) potentially ending its strike after 146 days. Entertainment attorney Jonathan Handel wrote the book on Hollywood strikes, literally, and is a contributing writer at Puck where he covers labor issues. He fills […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 632: Pickets Down – Hollywood Writers Strike A Tentative Deal appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Every annual awards season has its own strange rhythm and unexpected twists. But with both actors and writers on strike, unable to promote certain movies, surely this year's awards season will be the strangest of all. At the heart of the madness is Anne Thompson, the Editor-at-Large of Indiewire. The awards season expert is back […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 631: Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals Kick Off Unusual Awards Season appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The 1923 silent film “The Spanish Dancer” starring Pola Negri is the latest restoration project being theatrically released by Milestone Film & Video, one of the key players over the past 30 years in resurrecting forgotten and neglected films. We are joined by Dennis Doros, the co-founder of Milestone, who tells us how he turned […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 630: Resurrecting Silent Films Can Be Profitable (Theoretically) appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Carriage disputes between cable companies and media companies are nothing new. They happen regularly around big events like the Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup or the Oscars. However this time Charter Communications, the second largest cable operator in the United States, has pulled all of Disney's 19 networks from its service, refusing to pay the […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 629: Disney vs. Charter Feud Could Finally Unbundle Cable appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The recent success of the television series “Suits” on Netflix has shined a spotlight on how much money writers make on a cable or broadcast hit versus one on a streaming service. Last week one of the show's writers revealed the vast difference in residual payments he received between linear and streaming underscoring why the […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 628: An Inside Look at Streaming's Microscopic Residual Payments appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The number of households in the United States subscribing to traditional pay television services has dropped below 50% for the first time in the two years Nielsen has been tracking such metrics. And it's not that viewers are cutting the cable cord, they're just watching their favorite television shows and movies on streaming services more […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 627: Linear TV Drops Below 50% In U.S. For First Time appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Though Disney had previously dismissed the idea of venturing into sports betting, saying it didn't fit the company's image, the media giant signed a billion dollar agreement this week with a little known online gambling company. The move comes as Disney's linear television revenue is declining with no end in sight and losses for its […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 626: Will Disney's Big Wager On Sports Betting Pay Off? appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

One of the key disputes striking actors are having with the AMPTP (the studios and the streamers) is over artificial intelligence and how it will be used in movies and television shows in the future. What rights will actors have and will they get paid if their image and likeness is used through AI? We […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 625: SAG-AFTRA Concerns Over AI Are Justified appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The idea of counter-programming the simultaneous global release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” over the same summer weekend always seemed like a gamble. But somehow Greta Gerwig's comedy about a popular toy doll and a Christopher Nolan's biopic of the renowned nuclear physicist wound up becoming a worldwide phenomenon breaking all sorts of box office records […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 624: Hollywood Is Bungling Its Barbenheimer Momentum appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Film and television production ground to a halt last week in Hollywood (and elsewhere) when actors joined the already striking writers on the picket line. This marks the first time in 63 years that the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild has been on strike at the same time and it is […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 623: Actors Join Writers In Historic Dual-Strike appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The Writers Guild of America members have been on strike for over two months now and might soon be joined by the Screen Actors Guild. When it comes to artificial intelligence however both guilds agree; when their members' work is used to train AI, actors and writers should be paid. Some writers are now taking […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 622: Actors and Writers Agree That AI Ain't So Smart appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

In a year which boasted a bevy of summer blockbusters, moviegoers haven't been turning up at theaters for some of the more highly anticipated releases. Instead, big budget titles such as “The Little Mermaid,” “Elemental,” “The Flash,” and even “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” among others have all had underwhelming opening weekends. Is […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 621: Summer Box Office Is Much Cooler Than Expected appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

This 76th annual Tony Awards ceremony was held last weekend honoring the best and brightest Broadway productions from the past year. Although there was no script for host Ariana DeBose to work due to the writer's strike. But while the telecast may have been refreshingly unscripted, the winners were fairly predictable with “Kimberly Akimbo” winning […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 620: This Year's Tony Awards Were Unscripted, Yet Predictable appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The Directors Guild of America reached a deal with studios, networks and streamers on a new three-year contract avoiding what some believed would be the first true strike in its 87 year history. Entertainment and technology attorney Jonathan Handel joins us to explain the proposed agreement the directors negotiated with producers. He wrote the book […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 619: Directors Strike Deal for New Contract With Producers appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The 76th annual Cannes Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend handing out prizes to some of the 21 official selections appearing in competition this year. Justine Triet's film “Anatomy of a Fall” took home the Palme d'Or though that was one of many deserving titles programmed at what many festival goers felt was one […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 618: The 2023 Cannes Film Festival Lives Up to the Hype appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

There are few people that know more about labor issues in the entertainment business than attorney and journalist Jonathan Handel. So when members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike last week, grinding most television production to a halt, we asked him to join us to discuss all the nuanced details. Handel not […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 617: Why the Writers Strike Will Last for Months, Not Weeks appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Movie theater operators from around the world gathered in Las Vegas last week for CinemaCon. Though the last two pandemic suppressed editions of the conference were filled with artificial optimism about the business, this year's event showcased an industry that had survived and is indeed thriving thanks to a robust release schedule with plenty of […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 616: Movie Theaters Celebrate Recovery at CinemaCon appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Warner Bros. Discovery had long promised to merge its two major streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single, combined offering. This past week the media giant unveiled the name of the new service to the public; Max. Despite having decades of positive brand recognition, HBO will be dropped from the name. The company […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 615: Warner Bros. Takes Streaming to the Max appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

When the recording industry first moved online in the early 2000's piracy was driven by fans illegally downloading music through services like Napster. These days piracy is being committed by the music industry itself through streaming fraud. Artists and/or record labels are generating millions of fake automated streams to pump up playback numbers with the […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 614: Streaming Fraud Is Costing Musicians Billions appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

James Patterson has been a perennial presence on the New York Times best seller list after his most recent book failed to make the list, he accused the newspaper of “cooking the books” in the way it compiles its lists. According to BookScan, which uses actual sales figures, Patterson's latest book should have made the […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 613: Author James Patterson Questions New York Times Best Seller List appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

Everyone from fans of popular music groups to Broadway regulars are still facing angst and high prices when buying tickets. When the English rock band The Cure decided to forego dynamic pricing and charge only $20 to verified fans for tickets to their upcoming tour, the service fees and facility charges added up to more […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 612: No Easy Cure for Concert Ticket Troubles appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

As everyone expected, the big winner at this year's Oscars was “Everyone Everywhere All At Once,” taking home seven of the 11 awards it was nominated for. Anne Thompson of Indiewire was at the ceremony and joins us to give us the scoop on what happened behind the scenes at this year's Academy Awards, including […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 611: This Year's Oscars Were Everything Everyone Could Have Asked For appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

The current Writers Guild of America contract with signatories ends on May 1st of this year. Television networks and studios are bracing for what feels like an inevitable writers strike. The guild, which represents TV and movie writers, recently settled on a list of demands it is seeking during upcoming contract negotiations. Meanwhile AMC is […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 610: Hollywood Writers Prep For A Contentious Strike appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.

According to Digital Entertainment Group, consumers in North America spent $37 billion on home entertainment in 2022. That includes not only spending on streaming services, but also DVD, Blu-ray and digital sales. Not to mention physical and digital rentals. And none of these figures includes spending on cable television. Meanwhile, awards season is in full […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 609: Consumers Are Spending A Fortune on Home Entertainment appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox.