Showbiz Sandbox 288: This Summer’s Box Office Is Turning Into A Blockbuster
July 27, 2015
A string of big budget Hollywood sequels and prequels like “Jurassic World”, “Avengers” and “Minions” have driven the 2015 summer box office nearly 15% higher than last year. And not just in the United States. Countries all over the world are reporting strong movie attendance, especially in China where homegrown productions have been the top grossing releases.
It doesn’t hurt that North American moviegoers are currently paying the highest ticket prices on record. Just ask IMAX which just reported the highest quarterly earnings in the company’s history.
It isn’t all good news for Hollywood studios however. The European Union is charging the six major distributors with antitrust violations over what regulators allege are illegal licensing contracts with cable operators. Should the EU prove their case, it could cause havoc by eradicating longstanding entertainment industry business models.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the Emmy Award nominations, the approval of AT&T’s merger with DirecTV, why Neil Young is yanking his music from streaming services.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
‘Ant-Man’ Leads With Solid, But Uneventful $58.0M Debut
http://pro.boxoffice.com/latest-news/2015-07-17-north-america-thursday-night-report-ant-man-bags-64m-start-trainwreck-pulls-18m
Box Office: ‘Monster Hunt’ Becomes Top-Grossing Chinese Film in History
https://variety.com/2015/film/news/monster-hunt-box-office-china-2-1201548948/
Universal Finds Pirated Copy of Jurassic World Seeded From Its Own Servers
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/23/universal-pirated-copy-jurassic-world-seeded-from-its-own-servers
‘Jurassic World’ Becomes No. 3 Movie of All Time
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-jurassic-world-becomes-810460
Average Movie Ticket Price Hits Record High
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/average-movie-ticket-price-hits-810435
IMAX Posts Highest Quarterly Revenue in History on Summer Movie Strength
https://variety.com/2015/film/box-office/imax-box-office-1201546783/
Emmy Award Nominations: Full List of 2015 Emmy Nominees
https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/emmy-award-nominations-2015-full-list-1201537852/
Poitras FOIA Complaint
https://www.eff.org/document/poitras-foia-complaint
Controversial ‘Cosby’ Bio Won’t Get New Editions
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bookmark/controversial-cosby-bio-wont-get-810612
Spelman College Terminates Professorship Endowed by Bill Cosby
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/arts/spelman-college-terminates-professorship-endowed-by-bill-cosby.html?_r=0
Willie Nelson becomes first country musician to score Gershwin Prize
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-willie-nelson-becomes-first-country-musician-to-score-gershwin-prize-20150709-story.html
NFL’s $12 Billion Deal With DirecTV Faces Major Antitrust Lawsuit
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/nfls-12-billion-deal-directv-808544
Colin Cowherd Latest Personality to Exit ESPN
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/colin-cowherd-latest-personality-exit-809128
Hulk Hogan Fired from WWE After Reports of Racist Rant
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hulk-hogan-fired-wwe-reports-810894
Harper Lee’s ‘Go Set a Watchman’ Hits 1.1 Million in Sales
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bookmark/harper-lees-go-set-a-809802
Neil Young Pulling Catalog From Streaming Service
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/neil-young-pulling-catalog-from-streaming-services-20150715
Netflix Refines Its DVD Business, Even as Streaming Unit Booms
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/business/while-its-streaming-service-booms-netflix-streamlines-old-business.html
Netflix Tops 65 Million Subscribers in Q2, Citing Original Content for Strong Growth
http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/netflix-q2-2015-earnings-1201541012/
Made-in-China Movie Draws Fire As A Copycat of Pixar’s ‘Cars’
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-china-animation-plagarism-cars-pixar-20150721-story.html#page=1
Emoji At Center Of Bidding Battle Won By Sony Animation; Anthony Leondis To Direct
http://deadline.com/2015/07/emoji-movie-sony-pictures-animation-anthony-leondis-kung-fu-panda-secrets-of-the-masters-1201482768/
AT&T gets FCC Approval, Immediately Completes $49-billion Takeover of DirecTV
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-fcc-approves-atts-takeover-of-directv-20150724-story.html
Consumer Groups Say FCC Conditions On AT&T-DirecTV Merger Fall Short
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-att-directv-reaction-20150723-story.html
EU Files Antitrust Charges Against U.S. Film Studios
http://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-files-antitrust-charges-against-six-u-s-film-studios-1437646706
Theodore Bikel, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Star, Dies at 91
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/theodore-bikel-dead-sound-music-719735
E. L. Doctorow Dies at 84; Literary Time Traveler Stirred Past Into Fiction
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/books/el-doctorow-author-of-historical-fiction-dies-at-84.html
Comments