Showbiz Sandbox 548: The Cannes Film Festival in the Age of COVID
July 13, 2021
After COVID canceled the festival in 2020, the Cannes Film Festival is going ahead this year, albeit two months later than usual. Still, it’s remarkable that organizers were able to pull off the world’s largest film festival amid these uncertain times. We’ll tell you about all the COVID protocols at this year’s festival, not to mention all the movies, filmmakers and celebrities that made their way to the French Riviera.
Meanwhile, Disney announced that its new film Black Widow made $60 million in its opening weekend… not at the box office, but rather in homes. Subscribers of Disney+ could pay $30 to watch Scarlett Johannson save the day, rather than head to the movie theater. Is this a win for Disney? A loss for cinema? Or is it too soon to draw any conclusions from these COVID crazy times?
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including an increase in comic book sales, David Geffen helps the Yale drama school goes tuition free and Universal Pictures gives Peacock a boost.
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Showbiz Sandbox 547: Is Netflix The New Kleenex?
June 29, 2021
With exclusive theatrical release windows having disintegrated during the COVID pandemic, new movies are being released through so many methods and on so many platforms that it has inevitably confused audiences how and where they can watch a film. Initially, most movie watchers turn to Netflix, assuming most or all titles will be available on the service. That a title might only be offered by another provider at a premium only makes it more puzzling where new releases can be found.
There is no question however about where you can find musician Bruce Springsteen these days. He just returned to Broadway for a limited run of his biographical concert where he opened to absolutely no grosses. None! We’ll explain the reason why.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including how the Emmys will allow winners to drop the gender label, why the United Kingdom is putting Channel 4 up for sale and Quentin Tarantino confirms he’ll quit directing after his tenth film.
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Showbiz Sandbox 545: Writer Paul Rudnick On The Royals, Romance And Rudin
June 15, 2021
When multi-hyphenate Paul Rudnick isn’t writing hit movies or award winning plays he is working on Broadway musicals with the likes of Elton John or busy writing novels. Rudnick joins us for a detailed and humorous conversation about his work and his latest novel, “Playing the Palace.”
We’ll also take a look at the final ratings figures for the primetime television season. Only four network shows increased in total viewers out of over 120 programs that aired during primetime. The numbers for key demographics don’t look much better.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including how Sony Music is changing up how they pay royalties to artists, country singer Morgan Wallen returns to radio and North Korea bans all things K-Pop.
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Showbiz Sandbox 543: Amazon Grabs a Lion’s Share of MGM
June 1, 2021
In a move that had been rumored for weeks, Amazon became the first tech company to purchase a Hollywood movie studio in an $8.45 million deal. The acquisition will arm Amazon with over 4,000 movies like the Bond Franchise, “The Pink Panther” and “Robocop,” not to mention upwards of 17,000 television episodes. The real question is why did it take so long for a tech giant to buy a movie studio?
Meanwhile, a holiday weekend helped spark the post-pandemic North American box office as movies that were originally scheduled for release last year opened in theaters. Some new titles like “Cruella are also available on VOD at the same time. Is day-and-date releases hurting the box office prospects of such films?
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including the Academy Awards returns to its normal schedule, HBO Max is moving into Latin America and why “Friends” was censored in China.
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Showbiz Sandbox 542: TV Networks Are Upfront About Streaming Plans
May 25, 2021
Last week all the big television networks in the United States went through the old fashioned ritual of inviting advertisers to big presentations of their fall programming. Besides being virtual a lot has changed for the networks, including primetime scheduling, which is now an afterthought. Instead they emphasized streaming and the range of content available through numerous platforms including network, broadcast and their new subscription services.
Meanwhile, the global box office is revving its engines with “F9” opening to huge numbers internationally, pushing the “Fast & Furious” franchise over the $6 billion mark. Movie theaters in Europe are reopening just in time to show the movie.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Amazon may purchase MGM, this year’s Eurovision contest and the return of music festivals.
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Showbiz Sandbox 540: Time’s Up for the Golden Globes
May 11, 2021
It’s hard to believe we are still talking about the Golden Globes in May, when an argument could be made that they hardly matter in January. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group behind the Globes, said they would be adding 45 new members over an unspecified period of time with a focus on people of color in an attempt to overcome diversity issues in their ranks. However, this didn’t satisfy Hollywood studios, streamers and TV networks who have publicly begun walking away from the annual awards ceremony.
Meanwhile, the stars and filmmakers behind some upcoming movie releases are crying foul. With theaters at limited capacity and studios sending films to streaming services in as little as 17 days, box office for these titles will surely be depressed. This will, in turn, impact the money creative talent receives if their compensation is tied to a movie’s gross.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including when Broadway will raise the curtain again, rankings of the top streaming content and the Chinese box office just won’t quit, even if it’s hard to figure out which movies are earning all that money.
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Showbiz Sandbox 539: What the Roku and YouTube TV Dispute Means For Streamers
May 4, 2021
Roku and YouTube TV are locked in a very public dispute over a distribution agreement. Roku claims YouTube is playing games with its user data, while YouTube says it won’t share its user data with Roku. Now the YouTube TV app has been removed from the Roku channel store and if the fight escalates Roku could block the service entirely. We explain how this dispute could shape how viewers access streaming services in the future.
Meanwhile the Grammys are dumping the nominating committees which made the big decisions on major categories. These secret committees were originally created because the voters at large were missing obvious critical and commercial successes like The Weeknd.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including how SAG-AFTRA is creating a certification for on-set intimacy coordinators, John Mayer will host his own music program and hockey gets a streaming payday.
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Showbiz Sandbox 535: Theatrical Release Windows Get A Little Clearer
March 30, 2021
With North American movie theaters starting to reopen with limited capacity and European cinemas set to follow in the months ahead what new theatrical releases will be available to them, and for how long, is becoming more apparent. Studios are not only deciding when they are going to release their blockbusters, but more importantly whether they will launch them simultaneously on streaming platforms. In the process they are reaching agreements with cinema operators over the future of theatrical release windows.
Meanwhile, what counts as this year’s awards season continues to chug along with the Producers Guild handing out their awards. Though many of the same movies keep taking home the big prizes with each new ceremony, it’s always important to remember that this doesn’t mean they are guaranteed Oscar trophies.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including the list of this year’s new entries to the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress, Warner Bros. Music heads to China and who is guest hosting the television game show Jeopardy in the absence of the late Alex Trebek.
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Showbiz Sandbox 534: Do All The Streaming Numbers Add Up?
March 23, 2021
With world-wide subscriptions surpassing 1 billion last year, every movie studio and every television network is pouring money into streaming video services. They’re hoping to make more money with subscribers than the untold billions they’ve been raking in for decades at the box office, through advertising, in syndication or sales of Blu-Rays. And while these services are quick to tell us how many subscribers they have, it’s anyone’s guess as to how many people are actually tuning in to their programming.
Theatrical box office is another statistic that has gotten harder to track during the pandemic with many distributors delaying the reporting of grosses. Even so, the Motion Picture Association added up all the numbers for 2020 and reported that global box office was down over 70 percent to $12 billion.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including the NFL’s new relationship with Amazon, Hollywood agencies are getting into celebrity estate management and a trip to this year’s SXSW Film Festival.
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Showbiz Sandbox 533: Behind The Scenes At The Most Challenging Grammys Ever
March 16, 2021
Working within strict health and safety guidelines the producers of the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards telecast were uncertain how the show would come together or even when it would take place. David Wild knows this first hand. He was the lead writer and one of the producers on this year’s show. Wild joins us to detail all the challenges of pulling off music’s biggest night amidst a global pandemic.
Meanwhile, nods for outstanding achievements in motion pictures were announced en masse over the past week with the BAFTAs, Cesars, Directors Guild, American Society of Cinematographers and many more leading up to, finally, this year’s Oscar nominations.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including a trip to this year’s Berlin Film Festival, how Drake is dominating the music charts and Disney+ continues its staggering growth.
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