Comcast Corp – TheNewsHub https://thenewshub.in Mon, 11 Nov 2024 19:23:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7 Mattel pulls thousands of 'Wicked' dolls off shelves after printing adult website on packaging https://thenewshub.in/2024/11/11/mattel-pulls-thousands-of-wicked-dolls-off-shelves-after-printing-adult-website-on-packaging/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/11/11/mattel-pulls-thousands-of-wicked-dolls-off-shelves-after-printing-adult-website-on-packaging/?noamp=mobile#respond Mon, 11 Nov 2024 19:23:15 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/11/11/mattel-pulls-thousands-of-wicked-dolls-off-shelves-after-printing-adult-website-on-packaging/

Still from the film “Wicked”

Source: Universal Studios

Thousands of Mattel’s “Wicked”-branded fashion dolls are flying off shelves, but not because of consumer demand.

The toy company has been forced to pull its line of character dolls after a package misprint. Instead of listing the website for Universal’s “Wicked” movie, boxes featured a link to a pornographic website for a group called Wicked Pictures.

“Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page,” Mattel said in a statement. “We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel Customer Service for further information.”

Target, Walmart and Amazon had removed the line of “Wicked” dolls from their online storefronts as of midday Monday, as had Best Buy, Barnes & Noble and Macy’s. The products were also being sold at Kohl’s and DSW, among other retailers. Some sites were still taking action on the listings throughout the day Monday.

It is unclear if Mattel will reprint the packages or provide retailers with stickers to cover the incorrect website domain. Mattel did not return CNBC’s request for additional comment after providing its initial statement.

“Like any business, mistakes can and do happen in the toy business,” said James Zahn, editor in chief of The Toy Book. “This was likely an innocent oversight that made it through the normal processes. Most consumers — kids and adults alike — will never read the fine print on a package, and at the end of the day, the packaging is designed to end up in the trash. The odds of a kid reading the back of a doll box and being inclined to go online and visit the website are pretty slim.”

The mishap comes as Universal floods retail shelves with “Wicked”-related product ahead of the film’s Nov. 22 release. The green-and-pink barrage is expected to bring a big boost to the retail industry just in time for the crucial holiday period.

However, Mattel could see its revenue impacted by the cost of removing the dolls.

“I suppose the impact depends on the resolution, which we don’t yet know,” said Jaime Katz, an analyst at Morningstar.

“The big winners in the short term are resellers, as this snafu sparked a flipper frenzy this weekend as retail shelves were quickly emptied by opportunists looking to make a quick buck by selling on eBay or Facebook Marketplace,” Zahn noted.

Already dozens of Mattel’s misprinted dolls are available on eBay for list prices ranging between $40 and $2,100. The dolls retailed for between $20 and $40 depending on the character and outfit.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Wicked.”

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Painting the town pink and green: 'Wicked' takes over retail ahead of theatrical debut https://thenewshub.in/2024/11/09/painting-the-town-pink-and-green-wicked-takes-over-retail-ahead-of-theatrical-debut/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/11/09/painting-the-town-pink-and-green-wicked-takes-over-retail-ahead-of-theatrical-debut/?noamp=mobile#respond Sat, 09 Nov 2024 13:00:01 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/11/09/painting-the-town-pink-and-green-wicked-takes-over-retail-ahead-of-theatrical-debut/

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star as Elphaba and Glinda in Universal’s “Wicked.”

Universal

“Barbie” painted the town pink in 2023, and now “Wicked” is upping the ante by adding a splash of green.

Universal‘s theatrical retelling of the famed Broadway musical is creating buzz ahead of its Nov. 22 release with hundreds of merchandise offerings from dozens of retail partners. The green-and-pink barrage is part of Universal’s marketing strategy for the film and could bring a welcome boost to the retail industry just in time for the crucial holiday period.

These “Wicked” collaborations cross the spectrum from apparel, accessories, footwear, beauty and costumes all the way to home decor, toys and even one-of-a-kind cars.

The collections range in price points as well, offering consumers affordable and luxury options to show off their love of all things “Wicked.”

Target and Walmart have a slew of products on shelves, with whole sections of the store dedicated to themed shirts, sweaters and footwear, as well as dolls, plush figures, books and nail polish.

Lego and Mattel have brick sets and Barbies tied to the film; Starbucks has a collection of new tumblers and mugs, plus limited-time drinks inspired by main characters Glinda and Elphaba; and Betty Crocker has “mix to reveal” cake mixes that turn pink or green when wet ingredients are added.

Toyota’s Lexus is even releasing two one-of-a-kind versions of its 2024 Lexus TX that have “Wicked”-themed wraps.

The Broadway show on which the film is based is one of the most popular and highest-grossing musicals of all time and already has an established and rabid fanbase.

Just at the Gershwin Theater in New York City, more than 14.5 million people have bought tickets to see the show since it launched in 2003, generating more than $1.67 billion in ticket sales, according to Broadway World. Those figures don’t include traveling national shows or international residencies.

These fans are hungry for merchandise that celebrates and enhances their fandom and they are willing to pay for it, according to Mintel’s 2024 “U.S. Superfans and Enthusiasts Consumer Report.

The report found that nearly half of “superfans,” the most enthusiastic and devoted fans, have spent money on official fandom events or merchandise in the past year. The report, which surveyed 2,000 adults in the U.S., also determined that fandom collaborations and partnered releases are most successful among niche super-fandoms.

And that’s a good thing for the retail space, which saw the consumer confidence index fall 7 points in September, the largest drop in more than three years, only to soar up 11% in October, the biggest single-month acceleration since March 2021.

Retailers that have partnered with Universal are expected to see a boost from sales of “Wicked” merchandise, which could help them stand out from other companies during the next few months.

What could also drive demand is the fact that these merchandise collaborations are limited-time only. Once the stock is gone, it’s not likely to be replenished. So, even the most price-conscious consumers may be willing to spend in order to get these products before they vanish from shelves.

Movie theaters, too, are offering up themed popcorn buckets, drink specials and other merchandise for moviegoers who head out to cinemas to see the film. These retail opportunities could help boost the “Wicked” box office.

At present, box-office analysts have a wide-ranging read on what “Wicked” could do during its domestic opening weekend. On the conservative end is an $85 million haul, predicted by leading entertainment and technology research firm NRG. Meanwhile, others speculate that the first film in a planned duology could top $100 million and capture as much as $150 million during its first three days in theaters.

The divergence of expectations comes as Hollywood has struggled to market and make a profit on movie musicals in recent years. Adaptations such as “In the Heights,” “Dear Evan Hanson” and “Mean Girls,” all based on Broadway shows, failed to drum up significant box-office revenue during their runs.

However, other fan-favorite intellectual property-driven titles — including “Dune: Part Two,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2” — have overperformed estimates. With “Wicked” already being a household name but existing in the musical space, box-office analysts are finding it tricky to predict where it will land.

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Warner Bros. Discovery adds 7.2 million Max subscribers, the streamer's largest single-quarter jump https://thenewshub.in/2024/11/07/warner-bros-discovery-adds-7-2-million-max-subscribers-the-streamers-largest-single-quarter-jump/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/11/07/warner-bros-discovery-adds-7-2-million-max-subscribers-the-streamers-largest-single-quarter-jump/?noamp=mobile#respond Thu, 07 Nov 2024 18:29:18 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/11/07/warner-bros-discovery-adds-7-2-million-max-subscribers-the-streamers-largest-single-quarter-jump/

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday its streaming platform Max added 7.2 million global subscribers in the third quarter.

It marked the biggest quarterly growth for the streaming platform since its inception. Max now had 110.5 million subscribers as of Sept. 30. Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streaming service has been growing its subscriber base at a fast clip this year since expanding internationally during the first half.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock was up more than 10% on Thursday.

The streaming business has become a bright spot for Warner Bros. Discovery as its traditional TV networks have been pressured by cord cutting and a soft advertising market. Last quarter, Warner Bros. Discovery reported a $9.1 billion write-down on its TV networks.

On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery reported third-quarter results that showed revenue decreased 4% to $9.62 billion compared with the same period last year. Total adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were down 19% to $2.41 billion.

Warner Bros. Discovery swung to a profit of $135 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with a loss of $417 million, or 17 cents per share, in the same period last year.

TV networks revenue rose 3% to $5.01 billion compared with last year, despite declines in both distribution and advertising revenue for the segment. Studios segment revenue dropped 17% to $2.68 billion, with theatrical revenue falling 40%, excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange, due to the lower box-office performances of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and “Twisters” compared with that of “Barbie” last year.

However, the streaming business’ revenue increased 8% to $2.63 billion, driven by an increase in global subscribers, higher advertising revenue and global average revenue per user. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was $289 million, a rise of $178 million compared with last year.

Netflix reported 5.1 million subscribers additions during the quarter, propelled by its ad-supported plan and beating Wall Street expectations. In total, Netflix now has 282.7 million memberships.

However, beginning in 2025, Netflix will no longer update investors on its subscriber numbers as it shifts focus toward revenue and other financial metrics as performance indicators.

Comcast’s streaming platform Peacock added 3 million subscribers during its third quarter — spurred by the Summer Olympics in Paris — bringing its total to 36 million as of Sept. 30.

In August, Disney reported that Disney+ Core subscribers — which excludes Disney+ Hotstar in India and other countries in the region — increased by 1% to 118.3 million, despite the company’s earlier guidance that it wouldn’t add new customers during the fiscal third quarter.

Disney’s Hulu saw subscribers increase 2% to 51.1 million. Disney reports its next quarterly earnings on Nov. 14.

Paramount Global’s streaming division swung to an unexpected profit last quarter. Still, its Paramount+ streaming platform dropped 2.8 million subscribers to 68 million as it unwound a Korean partnership deal. Paramount is scheduled to report quarterly earnings Friday.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. Comcast is a co-owner of Hulu. NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

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Comcast's potential cable networks separation will test the appetite for media reconfiguration https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/31/comcasts-potential-cable-networks-separation-will-test-the-appetite-for-media-reconfiguration/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/31/comcasts-potential-cable-networks-separation-will-test-the-appetite-for-media-reconfiguration/?noamp=mobile#respond Thu, 31 Oct 2024 21:27:32 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/31/comcasts-potential-cable-networks-separation-will-test-the-appetite-for-media-reconfiguration/

Mike Cavanagh, president of Comcast Corporation, at center, during the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, July 12, 2023.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Comcast is thinking about separating or spinning off NBCUniversal’s cable networks. If it moves forward with the idea, it could lay the groundwork for a reconfiguration of the entire American media landscape.

The logic for Comcast is fairly straightforward. NBCUniversal’s cable networks aren’t growing anymore. The company’s energy and focus is on promoting Peacock, NBCUniversal’s growing but still money-losing streaming service. Carving out the cable portfolio could placate Comcast investors by removing declining assets from the balance sheet.

Comcast shares gained more than 3% on Thursday after the company’s third-quarter earnings release and conference call.

“We are now exploring whether creating a new well-capitalized company, owned by our shareholders and comprised of our strong portfolio of cable networks, would position them to take advantage of opportunities in the changing media landscape and create value for our shareholders,” Comcast President Mike Cavanagh said during the call. “We are not ready to talk about any specifics yet, but we’ll be back to you as and when we reach firm conclusions.”

Though executives stressed that the exploration is in the very early stages, it could be a prelude to broader industry consolidation. NBCUniversal’s cable networks, which include Bravo, E!, Syfy, Oxygen True Crime and USA Network, as well as news networks MSNBC and CNBC, could be merged with another media company or could be a catalyst for a rollup, or consolidation, of cable channels at a number of different companies.

The idea of a rollup isn’t new. It’s something media mogul John Malone discussed way back in 2016 when Lionsgate acquired premium network Starz.

“Lionsgate could buy Starz and potentially other free radicals in the industry,” Malone said at the time, referring to cable network groups not owned by larger media conglomerates such as AMC Networks, which is controlled by the Dolan family, or A&E Networks, which is co-owned by Hearst and Disney.

That vision never materialized, in part because the media world’s attention shifted from traditional pay TV to streaming, which devalued cable networks. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery reported a noncash goodwill impairment charge of $9.1 billion, triggered by the reevaluation of the book value of its TV networks segment.

Still, the loss of value for cable networks has now led to a new opportunity for a rollup, if companies such as Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney decide they want to shed declining cable assets in favor of focusing on streaming.

Thus far, media companies have opted to keep their cable networks, which still pump out billions in profit even as millions of Americans cut the cord each year.

Comcast may set a template if it moves forward with a spin and sees a spike in its overall valuation.

Ironically, Starz could again play a role in a media shakeup. The small media company wants to be the vehicle for a cable network rollup, CNBC reported in 2022. Starz is set to separate from Lionsgate at the end of 2024.

There’s broad uncertainty about whether a company that consists of only cable networks has a viable path forward as a publicly traded entity. Equity investors typically aren’t fans of declining assets, even if they’re cash rich.

But even if Starz doesn’t achieve its vision of a cable network rollup, it’s possible a private equity firm may have interest in harvesting a group of cable networks for cash. Apollo Global Management, for one, had late interest in acquiring Paramount Global and has made several media-related investments in recent years, including buying Yahoo.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

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Immersive entertainment company Cosm lands rights to broadcast NFL games https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/28/immersive-entertainment-company-cosm-lands-rights-to-broadcast-nfl-games/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/28/immersive-entertainment-company-cosm-lands-rights-to-broadcast-nfl-games/?noamp=mobile#respond Mon, 28 Oct 2024 12:56:11 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/28/immersive-entertainment-company-cosm-lands-rights-to-broadcast-nfl-games/

Cosm currently has two locations in Los Angeles and Dallas, Texas but plans but is planning on expanding to additional locations in the future.

Courtesy: Cosm

Cosm, the immersive technology company that broadcasts live sports events using what it calls “shared reality,” is partnering with the National Football League, the company announced Monday.

As part of the deal, Cosm will produce and distribute NFL games at its venues throughout the rest of the 2024 season.

The deal includes broadcasting every Thursday night football game on Amazon, all Sunday night games on NBC, every Monday night football game on ESPN and select games on Sunday with Fox.

The company, founded in 2020 by Mirasol Capital, uses a 360-degree dome with giant 12K+ LED screens to offer viewers a fully immersive “shared reality” experience that mirrors being at the game.

The domes fit about 700 people with the average ticket price ranging between $22 and $127. Cosm uses a dynamic pricing model, similar to concerts or live sports.

“What’s so unique about a property like the NFL is that fandom is everywhere,” said Jeb Terry, president and CEO at Cosm. “We see fans coming in wearing jerseys, bringing the Terrible Towel, bringing cow bells, having an absolute blast, like they’re at the stadium themselves.”

The company did not disclose the financial details of its deal with the NFL.

Cosm offer a wide range of live sports and also educational programming

Courtesy: Cosm

Cosm first opened its doors in Los Angeles and Dallas this summer and recently announced its third venue would be in downtown Atlanta, with future locations to be announced soon.

Cosm already has deals in place with the NBA, UFC, ESPN, NBC Sports, TNT Sports, Fox Sports and Amazon Prime Video, and broadcasts everything from the Summer Olympics in Paris to the current World Series.

Tickets for the first game of the World Series featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees sold out in seven minutes, Cosm said. The second game sold out in one minute.

“Inventory is flying off the shelf,” Terry said.

The shared reality experience gives fans the feeling of being at the game.

Courtesy: Cosm

While live sports act as the core anchor for Cosm, the company also has nonsports offerings, including an animated voyage beyond the planets through the eyes of astronauts and a Cirque du Soleil show. This allows the company to have programs throughout lunch and matinee hours when live sports may not be available.

As fans’ viewing habits are changing, Cosm is finding rapid success in its tech-forward model.

Terry said the venues are already seeing repeat customers and they will soon be introducing membership rewards and season passes.

In July, the company raised more than $250 million in funding to expand globally. Cosm is valued at more than $1 billion, and its investors include sports heavyweights such as former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and co-managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils David Blitzer.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

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'Joker: Folie a Deux' is this year's latest box-office flop. Here's what else has disappointed https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/18/joker-folie-a-deux-is-this-years-latest-box-office-flop-heres-what-else-has-disappointed/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/18/joker-folie-a-deux-is-this-years-latest-box-office-flop-heres-what-else-has-disappointed/?noamp=mobile#respond Fri, 18 Oct 2024 14:15:54 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/18/joker-folie-a-deux-is-this-years-latest-box-office-flop-heres-what-else-has-disappointed/

Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck in “Joker: Folie a Deux.”

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. took a big swing with “Joker: Folie a Deux.” It’s turned into a big whiff.

After the billion-dollar success of “Joker” in 2019 on a shoestring budget of just $55 million, the studio greenlit a sequel, offering director Todd Phillips a substantially larger budget of $200 million. As of Wednesday, the film has garnered just $53.8 million domestically, according to Comscore. Its global haul stands at $166 million as of Sunday with updates expected over the weekend.

Panned by critics and audiences, “Joker: Folie a Deux” is not expected to recoup much of its lofty production budget or the additional $100 million in estimated marketing and distribution costs by the end of its theatrical run.

And it’s not the only blockbuster-budgeted film to disappoint at the box office this year.

Other studios, including Warner Bros., Universal, Lionsgate and even Sony, have dropped hundreds of millions of dollars on franchise features and star-studded ensembles — only to see ticket sales sputter.

Of course, it’s not an unusual occurrence in the theatrical industry.

“A combination of hits and flops are a hallmark of every box office year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “But, 2024, being subject to a variety of unique challenges to both film production and the release calendar, created an imperfect storm that led to a series of creative misfires and financial failures.”

Additionally, as Hollywood contends with a growing streaming market and a more fickle moviegoing public, these misfires could worry investors.

“Before the rise of streaming, assessing a film’s financial performance was seemingly clearer cut than it has become in recent years,” said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics for Fandango’s movie division.

Because of streaming, Hollywood has shortened the theatrical window, bringing movies to the home market much faster than before. This means that potential moviegoers, who might be on the fence about seeing a movie or seeing it quickly, have a shorter time to wait before they can view it from their couch on a streaming service to which they already subscribe. And if that movie has poor reviews, audiences have even less incentive to go out to cinemas.

“In turn, this shift in dynamics and business models might call into question what kind of box office-to-budget ratio constitutes a loss and what doesn’t,” Robbins noted. “Some numbers are easier to eyeball and identify as a financial misfire without much argument, to be sure. Others may be less obvious to discern in a constantly evolving global marketplace.”

For example, a straight-to-streaming movie with a budget of $200 million could be deemed a success for a studio, if it drums up enough views. Meanwhile, a $200 million film that goes to theaters and underperforms is often considered a failure. That’s especially true when considering studios are also spending on marketing and promotion costs, usually equal to half of the production budget, and sharing ticket proceeds with cinemas.

For companies such as Netflix, Apple or Amazon that have bigger cushions and stakeholders who are traditionally more comfortable with risk, big-budget films going straight to streaming may not faze investors. But for more traditional media companies, that have long traded off their successes at the box office, shareholders still want to see a big theatrical return on investment.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest box-office disappointments so far in 2024, based on production budgets estimated by IMDb and box-office tallies to date from Comscore:

“Joker: Folie a Deux”

  • Estimated production budget: $200 million
  • Global box office: $166 million
  • Release date: Oct. 4, 2024

Warner Bros.’ “Joker: Folie a Deux” fell short of opening weekend expectations earlier this month, securing just $37.6 million domestically after initial box office forecasts called for close to $70 million in its first few days in theaters.

The film picks up after Arthur Fleck’s arrest in “Joker” as he awaits trial at Arkham State Hospital. Audiences failed to connect with the sequel, which featured Lady Gaga, who played a version of Harley Quinn, and her musical talents in a number of scenes.

“Joker: Folie a Deux” suffered the biggest second-week drop of any DC studios film, a whopping 81% fall.

For comparison, its predecessor snapped up $96.2 million during its opening weekend and $248.4 million globally in its first three days.

“Joker: Folie a Deux” failed to lure back its most ardent fans or inspire new moviegoers to flock to cinemas. Critics widely panned the flick, which currently holds a 33% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and a rare “D” on CinemaScore.

“Borderlands”

  • Estimated production budget: $115 million
  • Global box office: $32.9 million
  • Release date: Aug. 9, 2024

Trying to capitalize on the popularity of video game-based movies, Lionsgate shelled out $115 million for director Eli Roth’s adaptation of “Borderlands.”

The film touted an all-star cast of Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis and up-and-comer Ariana Greenblatt, but fell flat with audiences. Blanchett portrayed an infamous bounty hunter who forms an unlikely alliance with a ragtag team of misfits while on a quest to find the missing daughter of the most powerful man in the universe.

“Borderlands” generated a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 161 reviews and stalled out with just $32.9 million in global ticket sales.

Still from Lionsgate’s “Borderlands.”

Lionsgate

“Argylle”

  • Estimated production budget: $200 million
  • Global box office: $96.2 million
  • Release date: Feb. 2, 2024

Universal’s “Argylle” similarly had a stacked cast — Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, John Cena, Dua Lipa and Samuel L. Jackson, among them — but failed to drum up box-office interest.

The film centers on Howard as reclusive author Elly Conway, whose best-selling espionage novels start to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization.

After spending around $200 million on production and an estimated $100 million on marketing efforts, the film generated just $96.2 million worldwide.

Much of the film’s issues stemmed from poor reviews — it garnered a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — for what some called a convoluted yet predictable plot.

“The Fall Guy”

  • Estimated production budget: $125 million
  • Global box office: $180.9 million
  • Release date: May 3, 2024

Universal’s “The Fall Guy” was actually very well-received by critics, earning an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, even the dynamic duo of Ryan Gosling, fresh off “Barbie,” and Emily Blunt, one of the stars of “Oppenheimer,” wasn’t enough to draw audiences out to cinemas.

The film, a love letter to stunt performers based on a television show from the ’80s with the same name, centers on Gosling’s Colt Seavers, a battle-scarred stuntman who is drawn back into the movie industry after the star of a film directed by Seavers’ former love interest Jody Moreno (Blunt) goes missing.

“The Fall Guy” tallied just $180.9 million globally. Its production budget was $125 million, not including marketing and distribution costs. The lack of major franchise attachment and niche storyline appears to have narrowed the audience.

Ryan Gosling stars in Universal’s “The Fall Guy.”

Universal

“Madame Web”

  • Estimated production budget: $80 million
  • Global box office: $100 million
  • Release date: Feb. 14, 2024

Sony’s Spider-Man universe films have been hit-or-miss at the box office for years. For every Venom or Spider-Verse success there’s a “Morbius” or a “Madame Web.”

With an 11% score on Rotten Tomatoes, “Madame Web” sparked the wrong kind of viral attention after its release. Memes flooded social media sites poking fun at the cast’s wooden performances, gaping plot holes and poorly redubbed dialogue.

“Madame Web” follows Cassandra Webb, a New York City paramedic with clairvoyance. Webb’s visions warn her about a threat to three young women, who each will gain spider powers in the future.

The film, which cost around $80 million to produce, managed to scoop up around $100 million in ticket sales globally. However, after marketing costs and splitting receipts with cinemas, the film did not make back its budget.

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”

  • Estimated production budget: $168 million
  • Global box office: $172.4 million
  • Release date: May 24, 2024

Warner Bros.’ “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” was a long-awaited prequel from the mind of George Miller. However, despite solid reviews — a 90% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes — the film failed to explode at the box office.

A prequel to 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the film explores Furiosa’s early life after she is kidnapped by a tyrannical warlord and attempts over several years to get back home.

The film’s production did benefit from extensive government subsidies for filming in Australia, which lessened the financial blow, but “Furiosa” generated only $172.4 million during its global run. Its production budget was estimated at around $168 million without marketing expenses.

For comparison, “Mad Max: Fury Road” snared $368 million during its global run in 2015.

Chris Hemsworth stars as the villainous Dementus in Warner Bros.’ “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.”

Warner Bros. Discovery

“Megalopolis”

  • Estimated production budget: $120 million
  • Global box office: $9.2 million
  • Release date: Sept. 27, 2024

“Megalopolis” was a passion project for writer-director Francis Ford Coppola, who had been stewing over the film’s concept since the late ’70s. He self-financed the film, shelling out $120 million on production.

The film is set in an alternate version of 21st-century New York City called New Rome. It follows an architect named Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) as he attempts to revitalize the city by building the futuristic utopia called Megalopolis all while facing corrupt leadership bent on shutting down his plans.

The “overstuffed opus,” as Rotten Tomatoes critics called the piece, had a sizeable cast of heavyweights in addition to Driver — Dustin Hoffman, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Fishburne and Jon Voight among them — but seemed to draw in only Coppola’s biggest fans. “Megalopolis” tallied just $9.2 million globally.

The film was distributed by Lionsgate. It is unclear if the marketing and distribution costs were split between Coppola and Lionsgate or if the studio took on the financial burden.

“Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1”

  • Estimated production budget: $100 million
  • Global box office: $38.2 million
  • Release date: June 28, 2024

Another passion project, “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” from Kevin Costner faced difficulties at the box office. The feature collected only $38.2 million at the global box office during its run in theaters. Its poor performance led Costner and Warner Bros. to postpone the release of a planned sequel, “Chapter 2,” which had been set for about six weeks after the first hit theaters.

“Chapter 1” follows several different narratives of people exploring the American West and pioneering new territory, including a gruff cowboy played by Costner, who finds himself on the run with a prostitute and a young boy after killing a fellow gunman.

Costner produced, wrote, directed and starred in both films, spending an estimated $100 million on the two projects. Two more chapters in the saga are still in development with an undisclosed budget.

Western films are a tough sell at modern box offices. The classic genre is beloved by film buffs, but isn’t a huge draw for moviegoers. The highest-grossing Western at the box office is Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 film “Django Unchained,” which generated about $450 million globally, according to Comscore. Costner’s “Dances with Wolves,” from 1990, is the second-highest with $424.2 million in global ticket sales, not adjusted for inflation.

While 2013’s “The Lone Ranger” tallied $260 million worldwide, no other Western film has garnered more than $250 million at the global box office.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.

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Jeff Shell is about to lead Paramount. He may have runway to make bold changes he couldn't at NBC https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/11/jeff-shell-is-about-to-lead-paramount-he-may-have-runway-to-make-bold-changes-he-couldnt-at-nbc/ https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/11/jeff-shell-is-about-to-lead-paramount-he-may-have-runway-to-make-bold-changes-he-couldnt-at-nbc/?noamp=mobile#respond Fri, 11 Oct 2024 13:00:42 +0000 https://thenewshub.in/2024/10/11/jeff-shell-is-about-to-lead-paramount-he-may-have-runway-to-make-bold-changes-he-couldnt-at-nbc/

Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, speaks during a conference at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, June 22, 2022. 

Eric Gaillard | Reuters

Less than two years after NBCUniversal fired Jeff Shell for alleged sexual harassment, the former CEO is close to finding himself back in the saddle leading a storied media company.

The longtime media executive is primed to help run the day-to-day media operations of Paramount Global as president of the company when its merger with Skydance Media closes in the first half of 2025, assuming regulatory approval. He’ll report to current Skydance CEO David Ellison, who will take the top job as the combined company’s CEO.

While neither Shell nor Ellison has publicly declared specific intentions for Paramount Global due to regulations banning “gun-jumping” in pending mergers, Shell’s recent tenure as the CEO of Comcast’s NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC, offers clues to what may be in store for Paramount.

CNBC spoke with a dozen people who worked closely with Shell during his tenure as CEO from 2019 to 2023. They described Shell as a person with big ideas and a willingness to make bold moves but with a style that depends on those around him to talk him out of decisions that may not make sense. Some of Shell’s boldest ideas — such as giving NBC’s 10 p.m. hour over to affiliates, merging with a rival, and turning CNBC primetime into a Fox News facsimile — never played out.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts chose Shell to replace Steve Burke as NBCUniversal CEO in 2019. Shell had consistent success running a variety of different divisions within Comcast and NBCUniversal, including NBCU International and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group.

Colleagues told CNBC they found Shell to be a good listener and a collaborative decision-maker with a predilection for sometimes saying too much. His departure from NBCUniversal was sudden. In April 2023, a Comcast investigation corroborated allegations from a former CNBC reporter of sexual harassment. Shell joined private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners in February. RedBird backed the Skydance-Paramount merger and will assume a minority equity stake.

Soon, Shell, 59, will be at the helm of Paramount and paired with Ellison, who has already expressed his desire to transition Paramount into a more modern media company. That may set up a dynamic where Paramount’s CEO and president both want bold change.

Read more CNBC media news

RedBird executives praised Shell during a conference call in July announcing the merger, with RedBird Partner Andrew Brandon-Gordon saying Shell’s “long-term, results-oriented, proven track record at NBCUniversal” coupled with Ellison’s creativity and tech savvy make for the perfect leadership dynamic for the future of Paramount.

Still, it’s possible the pairing could lead to rash decision-making, warned one executive who worked closely with Shell at NBCUniversal. Even the consideration of dramatic ideas can destabilize an organization if discussed openly without follow through, and Shell developed a reputation at NBCUniversal for what one former coworker described as a “shoot first and aim later” mentality — a sentiment shared by at least six others who spoke with CNBC.

“What Paramount needs is blocking and tackling — mature leadership,” said the executive who worked closely with Shell. “Ellison is a blow-everything-up guy, and Shell needs someone who can minimize his mistakes.”

Shell and Ellison both declined to comment for this story.

welcome gaining the hour as a way to boost advertising revenue.

During a 2022 CNBC interview, Shell confirmed a Wall Street Journal report that he was considering ceding the hour to local affiliates to shift resources from linear broadcast TV toward streaming.

“If we’re being prudent operators, which we try to be, if you’re allocating a bunch of resources to one side of the business, you have to look at the allocation of resources to another,” Shell told CNBC’s David Faber at the time. “We make a lot of money at 10 o’clock. We still have a lot of viewers at 10 o’clock. There’s no question throughout the day as linear declines, you’re going to have to make some tradeoffs, and we’ll be looking at that as our investors would want us to look at.”

The 10 p.m. hour on broadcast networks still serves as a time slot for scripted dramas — a genre that’s largely gone to streaming and, in turn, has seen ratings struggle on traditional TV. CBS’ 10 p.m. programming includes “NCIS: Origins,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” “Elsbeth,” and “Blue Bloods,” which is in its 14th season.

Paramount Global co-CEO George Cheeks, who runs CBS, told Deadline in late 2022 that he was “committed to 10 p.m. and continuing our ratings success in that time period.”

Shell ultimately backed off giving up 10 p.m. for NBC after weighing the potential fallout with Hollywood creatives and agents, according to people familiar with the matter. Such a move at NBCUniversal would risk ruining relationships with TV titans such as “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf, whose shows have occupied the 10 p.m. hour on NBC for years and have created a deep library for NBCUniversal’s flagship streaming service, Peacock. Irritating Hollywood would have run counter to Shell’s strategy to increase Peacock’s content catalog, as NBCUniversal needed strong relationships to fuel the service with new programming.

Wolf’s shows were also significant moneymakers for NBCUniversal, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, speaks to the media at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, July 7, 2021.

Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Ceding the 10 p.m. hour would also have negatively affected the ratings of NBC’s storied late night show, “The Tonight Show.” CBS’ late night show, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” is consistently the top-rated late night show, which could naturally give Shell pause on moving away from 10 p.m. once he’s overseeing Paramount assets.

Still, all of the late night shows are losing audience, and a downsizing has already begun across the genre. Shell may feel it’s finally time to pull the rip cord.

He is clearly aware that the status quo of linear TV needs to change.

“Obviously a big chunk of the company is in the linear world, and we know that linear is challenged and declining,” Shell said during the July conference call. “I think a lot of us in the business know, we have got to run these businesses in a different way as they decline. And so, we’ve spent a lot of the last few months really building a bottom-up plan, and our goal is to manage the businesses, particularly the linear businesses, for cash flow generation.”

previously said.

That doesn’t appear to be in Ellison and Shell’s playbook for Paramount. The two have expressed their desire to partner Paramount+ with another streamer to add scale and content to the service, either through a merger or a bundle. Paramount Global has already held talks with a number of media companies about partnering on streaming, including NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery.

“To be a winner in [streaming] really means being in the ultimate bundle that’s coming,” Shell said during the July conference call. “We’ve had a bunch of inbound calls from a number of people about partnerships that could involve a partnership with another player or players.”

At NBCUniversal, according to people familiar with his thinking, Shell privately pushed the benefits of merging with another content company — again, something that never happened.

He spoke up in meetings about the benefits of merging with Viacom, WarnerMedia and even Netflix to ensure Peacock would have staying power against larger streaming services, according to people who heard him speak.

Ultimately, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts decided the moves weren’t in the best interest of shareholders or that it was too difficult to gain regulatory approval for them, though Roberts nearly approved a deal in 2022 for NBCUniversal to merge with video game developer Electronic Arts — a deal that, according to people familiar with the matter, would have seen Shell lose his job as NBCUniversal CEO. That role would have gone to EA CEO Andrew Wilson, the people said.

Jeff Shell, Chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, and Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation, seen at Universal Pictures “Sing” after party at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in Toronto.

Eric Charbonneau | Invision for Universal Pictures | AP

hit Bravo franchises such as “The Real Housewives” and “Below Deck,” it has kept RSNs and news networks MSNBC and CNBC separate.

One of Shell’s big decisions at Paramount will be what to do with a handful of cable channels that have effectively turned into zombie networks, largely airing reruns of the same shows to avoid spending on new content. This includes MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central.

Shell wanted to combine some NBCUniversal cable networks to cut costs and push back on dwindling revenue, people familiar with the matter said, but ultimately decided not to.

Shell also had ideas that didn’t come to fruition about changing programming on some of NBC’s cable networks. He initially wanted CNBC to adopt what he described to others as a center-right primetime lineup, according to people familiar with the discussions at the time.

Then-CNBC chief Mark Hoffman argued the idea didn’t make sense for the network’s brand and likely wouldn’t have much of an audience, and Shell backed down, the people said. CNBC did hire former Fox News anchor Shepard Smith in 2020 to anchor a prime-time show that was canceled in 2022 just months after Hoffman retired. Hoffman declined to comment for this story.

One of Shell’s first accomplishments upon taking the NBCUniversal job was to renew the network’s “Sunday Night Football” deal with the NFL, and one of the last things he did was support NBC Sports moving forward with a bid for NBA rights if it got an opportunity, according to people familiar with the matter. NBC did get the chance to bid, and it’s bringing back NBA games beginning in 2025 after agreeing to pay about $2.45 billion per season to the league.

Both Shell and Ellison touted the importance of CBS Sports during their July conference call. When Paramount laid off hundreds of employees in September, none of them were part of CBS Sports, according to a person familiar with the matter.

CBS owns a Sunday afternoon package of NFL games, part of NCAA March Madness, Big Ten football, UEFA Champions League, and The Masters, among other sports. It wouldn’t be surprising if Shell migrates away from CBS entertainment programming toward sports, even in prime time, if those opportunities present themselves.

Disclosure: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.

WATCH: Skydance has to prove over time it can change the future trajectory of Paramount

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