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Georgia Affordable Care Act health insurance premiums set to rise dramatically
Georgia marketplace health insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act could skyrocket as high as 29 percent next year.
Jason Priestley reveals why he wanted to leave “Beverly Hills, 90210”, says he begged Aaron Spelling to end show
The actor played Brandon Walsh on the Fox drama for its first eight seasons.
Huanyu Entertainment Showcases New Productions at 42nd MIPCOM Cannes
The 42nd MIPCOM Cannes opened October 12 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, focusing on branded entertainment, AI-generated content, microdramas and vertical video. Huanyu Entertainment presented new productions, including Shadows of Desire and Echoes, and participated as a lead partner in the October 14 AI Entertainment Forum, discussing AI content monetization.
Giants' J.J. McCarthy Drama is Getting More Bizarre
What are the New York Giants exactly doing here?
Tesla’s new Roadster makes a flying debut, hitting 60 MPH in under a second
Tesla unveiled its long-anticipated Roadster on Thursday during a dramatic event in which the vehicle used compressed-air thrusters to fly off a ramp and perform a midair maneuver.
Joe Manganiello shares shocking hospital photos showing dramatic weight loss after near-death health crisis
‘Magic Mike’ star Joe Manganiello shares photos of his dramatic weight loss during the health scare he writes about in his new book, ‘Bloodlines.’
'The Diplomat' Season 4 is now streaming: Expect more political chaos — and plenty of marital drama.
"The Diplomat," Debora Cahn's critically acclaimed political drama starring Keri Russell, is back for its fourth season.
How BPC is Building Bipartisan Momentum on Youth Mental Health
America’s youth mental health crisis didn’t begin with COVID-19, but the pandemic dramatically accelerated it. More than 40% of teenagers reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Youth suicide attempts, self-injury, and drug overdoses climbed to alarming levels. Meanwhile, the behavioral health system meant to catch these young people remains chronically understaffed and poorly designed … Continued
IP Saves the Day On Streaming
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get started, I wanted to highlight a new idea I saw from Real Good AI, proposing a ratings system for AI use. (H/T to Anthony Kaufman’s article highlighting this.) It would look something like this: In general, I think that this is a solid, middle-ground solution that should appease both the pro-AI camp (who love AI) and the anti-AI camp (who wants to know if what they’re watching didn’t come from humans). Regardless of your feelings on AI/LLMs—I’ll never use it for my writing—transparency is often the best solution to many problems. In general, I think way more media outlets need to be using way more AI disclosures. My quick “Yes and...” to this idea: what about ads? In particular, I hate it when I see or hear ads that are obviously AI-generated, but a person or voice says, “I used this product”. AI doesn’t use products! Just today, I watched a YouTube ad where a “person” said they use some sort of rain wind chime...but that’s not a real person! They didn’t use this product. (Especially since the video of the wind chime itself also appeared to be AI-generated...) I believe most traditional advertising already has standards like this anyway.1 Okay, on to this week’s issue. We’re covering the week of 14-Sep, and then next issue, I’ll be fully caught up with Nielsen’s new release schedule. In the future, I plan to put out Streaming Ratings Reports each Monday after Nielsen’s Thursday releases. Overall, we had some big new shows this week, like Prime Video’s Reacher spinoff_, Neagley_, which is off to a big, big start, and Netflix’s latest in its Monster anthology, which is their largest opening since June and the second-largest since One Piece came out in March. All that, plus Slow Horses returns, the trio of returning shows (Lioness, Reacher and Ted Lasso) continue to dominate the top tens, Paramount+’s latest crime drama, a big whiff for a Netflix original film and a precipitous drop for Netflix film charts, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of September 14th to September 20th 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - IP For the TV Win Can I use the dirty word of entertainment journalism right now? IP. Shhh. Don’t tell anyone I said it. But IP works at the box office, and we’ve seen some evidence it works in TV too. Not as well, and not all the time—no absolutes here!—but often enough. And glancing at the Nielsen top ten…it worked this week! Take Prime Video, who has a monster hit in the crime drama Reacher. Would a spinoff work for that show? Yep! They binge-released Neagley, about a detective from the original Reacher series, and its eight episodes debuted to 29.6 million hours. Here’s how it stacks up to Reacher, one of Prime Video’s biggest shows: That’s great. Nearly as strong as Reacher’s opening! (Both shows started with eight, binge-released episodes, so this comparison is apples-to-apples.) Notably, Prime Video scheduled the debut of Neagley to overlap with Reacher’s most recent season, to help drive tune-in. Obviously, I love smart release strategies like that. And even though I wrote “obviously”, it’s not really that obvious, since streamers don’t often take advantage of natural overlaps like this_._2 Other data backs how well Neagley performed. It opened at second place on Samba TV for two weeks and got 51.7 million hours on Luminate. That’s the eleventh biggest opening on Luminate since May of 2024 and tied with Bridgerton’s third season opening. That’s a huge opening! Its IMDb is solid too, a 7.7 on 24K reviews. Netflix’s latest edition in the “Monster” series—which started with Jeffrey Dahmer and comes from Ryan Murphy—did well too, opening to 24.7 million hours. That’s the biggest opening for Netflix since I Will Find You in June, and second biggest since March. Unlike the Reacher series, this franchise is trending downward, though. The first Monster show—Dahmer - Monster—was giant. More than anything, I think this reflects that Netflix running out of extremely popular—if that’s the right word?—serial killers to feature. Still, the data says this is a very good opening. It made it to third place on Samba TV for two weeks. It also opened to 40.0 million hours on Luminate. That’s not quite as elite as Neagley, but still very, very strong. I’ll be honest: my priors coming into any given week are that IP works to help drive buzz for new shows, but TV shows need to stand on their own even more than movies, so they will succeed or fail based on their quality. But these two spinoffs definitely worked. Quick Notes on TV The top show, film or special this week? Football, again. Specifically, Prime Video’s season opener of Thursday Night Football. The games run long (three hours) but mainly a lot of people watch each game. That adds up to a lot of viewership. Paramount released the second season of MobLand on an unusual day for that service, a Friday! Often, they put their new shows out on a Sunday, as they did last year with a run of shows (Lioness, Tulsa King and Landman). MobLand didn’t make Nielsen in its first week, but on Samba TV it got to eighth and seventh place. Luminate had a smaller opening too, only 5.3 million hours. MobLand missed the Nielsen charts for its first eight weeks, so this season is off to a stronger start. (Bonus note: the first season streams on both Prime Video and The Roku Channel, but I only have it as Paramount+ on those charts.) I’ve mentioned a few times that foreign-language originals do lower numbers than English-language originals on Netflix most of the time. But I don’t usually emphasize what country those originals come from, and observationally, they tend to be from Western or Northern European countries, in general. So credit to Not a Stranger, a Turkish Netflix original, for breaking through on Luminate, getting to 7.9 million hours in its first full week on those charts. As I mentioned last issue, Crew Girl ended up making the Nielsen charts in its second week. That’s still a soft performance compared to many shows, but again this, one looks affordable. And if you’re curious, here’s how it stacks up to some other sports romance shows: We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… …about a new data source and how it drives streaming viewership… ...what reality show is struggling in its latest season…. ...what Netflix film bombed…. ...How Reacher, Ted Lasso, and Lioness are doing on the charts… ...what obscure sport put up great viewership numbers… …how far streaming films are falling… …all the flops, bombs and misses for the last week… …and more… ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you want an idea of just how much content you’d get in a full issue, check out this older issue. Coming Soon! Next week, we’ve got a double issue, then we’ll be all caught up with Nielsen’s data. Yes! The goal is to have my report out on the Monday after I get Nielsen’s data. So next issue, I’m looking at East of Eden, The Great British Baking Show, a Willy Wonka game show (that people are upset uses AI, but viewers might not care), and a Cosby show spinoff reboot on Netflix, and Brothers on Apple TV (starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey). That’s about it for TV, but who’s going to win the streaming week, The Breadwinner or Backrooms on streaming? Answer: Toy Story 5. Plus Netflix has a Unabomber film and a new Tyler Perry film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma tries to repeat The Substance’s run on MUBI, and Paramount+ has Jackass: Best and Last. Long term, Netflix is remaking Lonesome Dove. I love this choice, but man, there are a lot of westerns on TV right now. And they’re making Sega TV shows, including a Crazy Taxi TV show and Sonic show with an “edge”.
FBI agents and analysts who were fired for working on Trump classified files probe sue to get their jobs back
The investigation resulted in a dramatic 2022 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago that recovered classified records and later produced an indictment in federal court in Florida charging then-former President Donald Trump with dozens of felony counts.
Hall Changed NLCS Game 3 and Made Brewers Postseason History
DL Hall stifled the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2.1 scoreless innings, sparking a dramatic comeback that crowned him the Milwaukee Brewers’ all-time leader in postseason wins.
Samuel L. Jackson's 'Tulsa King' spinoff 'Frisco King' gets premiere date — and Sylvester Stallone is back
Taylor Sheridan's new Paramount+ crime drama premieres Dec. 18, with Jackson reprising his role as hitman Russell Lee Washington Jr.
Americans with disabilities worry over cuts to major health survey
NEW YORK • The federal government is planning to dramatically shrink its most influential health survey, and some researchers worry that the changes will underestimate how many Americans are disabled. At least half the survey questions could be axed. The cost-saving change is part of an ongoing effort to slim down the 69-year-old National Health […]
Trump says those who leak military plans should be shot
At a rally in Arizona, the president dramatically escalated his attacks on news gathering and those willing to speak to the press.
Judge orders Benson student to remain in mental health facility, for now
Wednesday marked the third hearing to decide whether the student should remain at a mental health facility or be transferred to a juvenile detention center. But it saw a dramatic last-second reversal, with the student only minutes away from being taken into custody to a local detention center.
Madera Flea Market vendors report sharp drop in business amid fears over ICE activity
Vendors at the Madera Flea Market say business has dropped dramatically in recent weeks as fears surround a reported increase in ICE activity.
Alan Mandell appreciation: The heart of L.A. theater and a friend
Alan Mandell, an award-winning actor, arts patron and arts administrator, was best known for co-founding the San Quentin Drama Workshop and interpreting the plays of Samuel Beckett.
‘Misty Green’ review: Rosalind Eleazar is a revelation in uneven drama
Chris Rock’s drama about a once-successful Hollywood actress struggling to navigate her second act is tonally all over the place, but its star is fantastic.
Maven’s Kate Ryder on using AI to help solve long-unanswered questions in women’s health-care
Maven CEO and founder Kate Ryder says AI has already dramatically lowered administrative costs and is writing all of the health benefits’ company’s code, but for patients, the greater promise of AI is in closing information gaps, a particularly frustrating issue women have always faced when seeking care.
Inside the ad model behind Issa Rae’s microdramas—and why Poppi and Sol de Janeiro are buying in
As microdramas gain traction as an entertainment format, Issa Rae’s media company, Hoorae, is pitching advertisers on its short-form series as media buys, not social media campaigns.
MIPCOM Cannes Attendance Dips as AI, Creators and Vertical Dramas Reshape Global Entertainment Market
CANNES, France — Attendance at MIPCOM Cannes was down this year, but the world’s largest international television market is undergoing a transformation that organizers say reflects the dramatic changes sweeping through the global entertainment business. MIPCOM Cannes 2026 drew 10,100 delegates from 104 countries, down from approximately 10,600 attendees from 107 countries last year. The … Continue reading "MIPCOM Cannes Attendance Dips as AI, Creators and Vertical Dramas Reshape Global Entertainment Market"
Kevin Hart's Hartbeat Inks Deal With Fox Entertainment For Vertical Content, Microdramas
Fox Entertainment and Hartbeat announced a multi-faceted partnership that leverages new, original vertical series as a development pipeline for film and television content. The partnership pairs Codeblack’s record of building film and television businesses for underserved audiences with Fox Entertainment’s studio operations, worldwide sales organization and growing vertical video ecosystem. It also extends vertical storytelling … Continue reading "Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Inks Deal With Fox Entertainment For Vertical Content, Microdramas"
Americans with disabilities worry about proposed changes to major national health survey
The federal government plans to dramatically shrink the size of its National Health Interview Survey, sparking concerns about underestimating disability rates.
Americans with disabilities worry about proposed changes to major national health survey
NEW YORK (AP) — The federal government is planning to dramatically shrink its most influential health survey, and some researchers worry that the changes will
Margaret Qualley's 'Love of Your Life' is about letting go. But she's standing by those barefoot sandals.
Qualley and costar Aaron Pierre break down the dynamics of their new romantic drama.
🗞️ Barça blitz, Atlético drama, Italian collapse: Wednesday's front pages
The latest round of Champions League action has unleashed a storm of emotions across the continent’s leading front pages. From Lamine Yamal’s masterclass spearheading Barcelona to Atlético’s em...
Justin Baldoni makes rare appearance in ‘DWTS’ audience after Blake Lively drama
Eagle-eyed fans spotted Justin Baldoni in the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ audience during ‘Super Bowl Night’ on Tuesday after his ‘It Ends With Us’ legal battle.
Scientists may have finally solved the mystery of the Moon’s two faces
Scientists may have solved a long-standing mystery about why the Moon’s two sides are so different, using samples collected from its farside for the first time. Their findings suggest that uneven heating from Earth's gravitational pull drove enormous flows of ancient magma, creating the dramatically different lunar landscapes we see today.
‘The Diplomat’ Season 4 promises more political chaos — and plenty of marital drama.
"The Diplomat," Debora Cahn’s critically acclaimed political drama starring Keri Russell, returns for its fourth season later this week.
‘The Diplomat’ Season 4 promises more political chaos — and plenty of marital drama.
"The Diplomat," Debora Cahn’s critically acclaimed political drama starring Keri Russell, returns for its fourth season later this week.
Fox Entertainment & Kevin Hart's Hartbeat Strike Microdrama Deal
The American studio and production company will distribute 25 series a year as they seek the next generation of IP.
Fox Entertainment, Hartbeat Test Microdramas for Film, TV Adaptation
Under the pact, the most successful vertical series produced by Hartbeat labels will be developed into more traditional entertainment formats.
Fox Entertainment, Kevin Hart's Hartbeat Sign Vertical Drama Deal
Fox takes a first-look option to develop original vertical series made under the Codeblack, Essence and Revolt brands into future film and television projects.
What's next in Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks contract drama: Will he pick up his player option?
How “Heart of the Beast” animal coordinator knew he found his canine star: ‘He’s the Brad Pitt of dogs’
Andrew Simpson tells EW about finding a rookie animal actor, Uber the German Shepherd, to star opposite Brad Pitt in the survival drama.
Below Deck is back! How to stream Season 13 premiere tonight on Sling
Stream the Below Deck Season 13 premiere tonight on Bravo with Sling TV and catch all the yacht drama live.
Kelly Clarkson, a local business and the return of social media beef
The internet loves a bit of drama, but why? Experts explain the interest behind Kelly Clarkson's feud with a local business.
Kelly Clarkson ‘Pretty Woman’ Drama Explained As She Slams Store’s Response
The singer accused a Brooklyn store of treating her like Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman.' Now both sides are disputing what happened.
Kirk Herbstreit Breaks Silence on Controversial Alabama-Georgia Ending
Saturday’s matchup between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs was one of the more highly anticipated games of the college football season.And it more than delivered on entertainment value.Georgia escaped Tuscaloosa with a 20-17 win, but it wasn’t without drama.There were two defining moments that seemingly determined the outcome of the game. Perhaps none […] The post Kirk Herbstreit Breaks Silence on Controversial Alabama-Georgia Ending appeared first on HEAVY.
The Social Reckoning Crashes Hard at Box Office, Turns Into a Major Flop
Sony’s Facebook drama opened to just $5.5 million in North America, finishing fifth. The Social Reckoning box office debut fell short of even modest expectations and left it far behind the film that i...
William Shatner says he learned about ‘the world of homosexuality’ from kinky Alexander Skarsgård movie
William Shatner says he made a connection between a playful shove in the face from his friend Neil deGrasse Tyson and Alexander Skarsgård’s erotic drama ‘Pillion’ — specifically, about ‘the world of homosexuality.’
'Children of Blood and Bone' cast reveals the family drama at the heart of the fantasy epic
At NYCC, the stars of the upcoming adaptation opened up about the love, betrayal, and grief driving the film's central families.
George A. Romero’s Season of the Witch is a slow-burn feminist occult drama
After inventing the modern zombie, Romero made a feminist film about a suffering house wife turning to witchcraft.
Nicolas Cage Hints at ‘True Detective’ Season 5 Role, Then Jokes He Wasn’t Supposed to Reveal It
Nicolas Cage says he may join True Detective, naming the HBO drama as a possible next television project. The Oscar winner brought up the crime ... Read More
Vurt wants you to look at vertical videos as a genre of their own
Vurt is bringing vertical microdramas to widescreen TVs.
"Has excellent qualities..." Michael Carrick Praises Bryan Mbeumo vs Spurs
Bryan Mbeumo’s goal almost gave Manchester United a first win in four, yet late drama and ongoing passive play left Michael Carrick searching for answers amid a worrying winless streak.
Opinion: Kansas may surprise the nation and elect a Democrat to the US Senate. MAGA politics reshaped state.
Opinion from H. Edward Flentje: In 1932, Kansas voters elected Democrat George McGill to the U.S Senate. In the 32 senate elections since then, voters have consistently elected Republicans to represent them.This historic streak makes Democrat Adam Hamilton’s bid to prevail in his challenge to the reelection of U.S. Senator Roger Marshall an uphill climb. However, Marshall’s embrace of MAGA politics has changed the dynamics of the race and given Hamilton a credible shot at a dramatic upset.
What Netflix's 'The Altruists' gets wrong, according to former FTX exec
"The Altruists" is an eight-episode Netflix series dramatizing the rise and fall of the cryptocurrency exchange under former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
With \'Odyssey,\' \'Primetime,\' \'The Drama,\' Robert Pattinson has had a heck of a year [Unscripted]
It's really easy for me to get burnt out on seeing the same few actors time and time again on the big screen.
Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers Predicted to Benefit From Major Colts Weakness
Pittsburgh has struggled to protect Aaron Rodgers, but one ESPN analyst expects a dramatic change against the Colts. The post Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers Predicted to Benefit From Major Colts Weakness appeared first on HEAVY.
Vietnamese Horror ‘Arithmadtic’ Leads Bee Entertainment’s Busan Slate
Vietnam’s Bee Entertainment brings Dark Academia horror ‘Arithmadtic,’ three more 2027 features and three long-form dramas to Busan market.
NASCAR’s Legal Fight Will Freeze Talent Movement Forever
A judge ordered evidence in the JGR vs. Spire lawsuit, but Denny Hamlin calls the drama a mess. Talent movement could stop.
Many Kauai small businesses hanging on by a thread waiting for financial aid
A month after Hurricane Lowell destroyed businesses and caused a dramatic slowdown in customers, many Kauai operators are barely hanging on. The federal government announced approval of major disaster aid
Dr. André Carrington on audiofuturism: the Black history of science fiction radio drama, Oct. 16
“Audiofuturism: Science Fiction Radio Drama and the Black Fantastic Imagination” chronicles the largely understudied history of audio science fiction made for Black creators for Black audiences.
Amid drama, Clemson clarifies position on Protect College Sports Act. What to know
Despite sending a letter pushes for changes to the bill’s realignment clause, the university said it’s not trying to “derail” the PCSA.
Netflix’s Summer of Bummer
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Today, I’ve got a guest post from longtime friend of the newsletter, Brandon Katz. I’ve been trying to find time all summer to look at Netflix’s straight-to-streaming film slate, but between a pre-planned trip and Nielsen moving up their streaming data timeline, I’ve been swamped. So I reached out to Brandon, one of my favorite fellow analysts, to write about it. And I feel like he captured the tone and data focus of the newsletter perfectly. You can connect with Brandon on LinkedIn and Twitter. Enjoy! Don’t worry, folks. You’re in safe hands with me. To ease any anxieties about an interloper in ESG’s domain, I’ll start by stealing one of his best framing devices: headlines. Box office flops are covered in the same way the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles eye pizza: with cartoonish insatiability. I would know. I’m a former reporter who wrote nearly identical headlines: Yet, intentionally or not, streaming misses get treated with kids gloves, filtered through a rosy lens: In the last six years, U.S. streaming viewership has become nearly as transparent as the box office, but the data often arrives weeks later, in a number of less intuitive metrics, and with nary an official budget to be found. This plays into the Wall Street-whispering narratives major streamers have been cultivating for years. They get a pass in a way that theatrical studios simply don’t. Subscribe Netflix’s Summer Slate Not a single Netflix original film released between May and August this year opened above 20 million U.S. TV hours, per Nielsen. That benchmark usually serves as the EntStrategyGuy’s floor for a streaming hit on Netflix. None of these films enjoyed a hit-cementing single week of 20-plus million hours during their runs. Netflix’s two best films were true crime docs, Maternal Instinct (16.5 million hours) and The Crash (19.7 million), the best overall week for a film this summer. Great for most other streamers, but not necessarily what we’re used to seeing from Netflix. For an overly-dramatic comparison, Happy Gilmore 2 opened last summer to around 47 million hours (celebrity cameos, baby!). Zooming out, the picture looks even worse. In 2026, Netflix’s five biggest scripted summer films posted the lowest average (28.6 million hours) and median (28.8 million hours) eight-week viewership totals of the past four years. Now, it’s unrealistic and unfair to expect Netflix to deliver a _KPop Demon Hunters-_sized hit every year. But it’s also not ideal to see the size of their hits shrinking over the last few summers. Let’s quickly run through some of the notable summer misses. Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein’s perfectly fine romcom, Office Romance, fell off the charts after 20 million hours in its first two weeks. Top films usually last for four-plus weeks. Starry titles ideally don’t decay that fast either. Homegrown star Millie Bobby Brown couldn’t prevent the snappy Enola Holmes franchise from diminishing returns. At 14.3 million U.S. hours, the third film posted roughly half of what the first two films did in their first two weeks. What’s on Netflix calculated that per-day global views were down nearly 60% from the second movie. The Whisper Man did okay with more than 36 million hours over its first four weeks. But I expected a little more juice from a film featuring Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, and Adam Scott. Kevin Hart’s Ladies First collected just 11.2 million hours total across two weeks. That’s a big miss for one of Netflix’s go-to stars. Plopping into the same bucket are Sunny Sandler’s Don’t Say Good Luck (10.3 million in two weeks) and John Cena’s Little Brother (17.5 million). Meanwhile, English-language originals Color Book (June 19), In the Hand of Dante (June 24) and Heartstopper Forever (July 17) never sniffed Nielsen’s Top 10 at all, despite needing only 2 to 5 million hours to land in the top ten most weeks. (By my count, eleven English-language scripted original films released between May and August did chart). It’s only fair to mention that Swapped (1-May) posted nearly 42 million U.S. hours over five weeks (the longest Netflix original run this summer) and is currently their eighth most-watched English-language film ever worldwide. Remarkably Bright Creatures (37 million, 4 weeks) and Voicemails for Isabelle (27 million, 4 weeks) weren’t bombs either. Still, overall, I think it’s fair to say this was a quieter summer season than we’re used to seeing from the market-leader. You might not realize that given the language commonly used in public analysis. The Twist Despite the starkly black-and-white tone of the coverage, here’s the twist: when many box office bombs arrive on streaming, their viewership looks a whole lot like many of Netflix’s supposedly successful summer releases. Hmm, where have we heard that one before? Masters of the Universe topped out at $65 million stateside against a $170 million budget_._ I’ll admit, Skeletor ripping sleeveless curls as a gym bro and bodyslamming Adam’s co-workers was funny. But, much to the chagrin of my bank account, my laughter doesn’t launch franchises. Yet the He-Man reboot opened to 19.6 million hours (from a Wednesday five-day opening instead of just one weekend), on par with Hoppers on Disney+ (19.4 million). It put up nearly 47 million hours over its first six weeks, bigger than all of Netflix’s summer releases. Pretty darn healthy and likely to land among the 25 most-watched movies on streaming this year. Sticking with Amazon, The Sheep Detectives just barely broke even at the box office with $133 million worldwide (and only $66 million domestic). I never expected cloven-hooved, cud-chewing mammals to be able to bring me to tears. Yet that’s exactly how I found myself at the end of this surprisingly affecting movie (#NoShame). It was likely the unexpected quality in a family-friendly film that powered its streaming over-performance. Sheep Detectives delivered a solid run for Prime video netting 26.2 million hours! How about franchise IP? Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu had the lowest opening ($81 million) and lowest-grossing Disney-era live-action Star Wars film ($178 million domestic). One day before release, its Heat score (19.8%)—audiences who list their interest as a 7/7—fell behind blockbusters Wicked (21%), Superman (23%), Fantastic Four: First Steps (23%), Michael (23%), Toy Story 5 (26%) and Avatar: Fire and Ash (27%), according to Greenlight Analytics. The urgent enthusiasm just wasn’t there. On streaming, Mando opened to weeks of 12.1 million, 6.1 million and 2.7 million hours (21 million total) over its first three frames. Not the numbers Lucasfilm was hoping for nor the numbers of a streaming hit. But they’re in the same vicinity as some Netflix summer releases with $345 million at the global box office to offset a smidgen of the pain. Final Thoughts So why oh why does this nuance gap exist? Four key reasons: Data Literacy: A “$100 million opening” just makes sense. After decades of box office reporting, even casual movie fans are well-versed in the benchmarks of hits and home runs. There’s an immediate shorthand. But “16.5 million” hours doesn’t land nearly as cleanly. Despite leaps of progress, the streaming ratings era is still in its infancy compared to theatrical. The EntStrategyGuy and I met thanks to a late 2010s group chat of data nerds hungry to find a shred of certainty in nebulous streaming performance. I’m not surprised to see “No. 1 on Netflix” still getting misconstrued out in the wild. Timing: By Friday morning, we have the box office’s Thursday night previews totaled, allowing us to better project the weekend’s expectations. From there, ticket sales are reported daily. By Sunday, the film’s fate is usually finalized, at least in terms of public perception. In streaming, Nielsen recently improved its delay to…two weeks. The medium isn’t forced to contend with instant gratification as harshly. Financials: Theatrical film budgets are a mere Google away. Profit and loss is calculated in the cold and unforgiving naked light of day for all to see. But finding the vast majority of streaming exclusive movie budgets requires the forensic investigation skills of a Criminal Minds detective. Also, it’s very difficult to calculate how much revenue/value a straight-to-streaming films provides a streamer. This is why there are so few stories about streaming original movies “losing X amount of money”. On top of that, marketing budgets are far greater for theatrical movies than streaming exclusive movies, which leads to earlier and better awareness. This then translates to a wider pool of potential interest. Narrative Control: Netflix is the only major streaming service to publish weekly first-hand viewership data and annual engagement reports. Naturally, some headlines borrow their first-hand framing**.** Other streamers benefit from their comparative lack of transparency. They may occasionally announce vague performance platitudes such as Apple TV’s Mayday becoming its “biggest film debut on the platform to date over its first 18 days,” and that it ranked No. 1 with left-handed viewers in its first weekend. (Fine, I made up that second one). But, for the most part, they keep first-hand viewership shrouded in mystery to avoid bad press. Especially for outlets that demand multiple articles per day from their writers, it’s an easy (and understandable) way for some reporters to hit their daily article quota by just repeating what the streamers have told them. TL:DR version: Streaming-exclusive movies are asked to do different things than theatrical movies, but that doesn’t mean they should escape judgment. Both still need to draw enough eyeballs to justify their cost within the proper performance contexts. The more cleanly we can inject a little nuance into streaming analysis, the better we’ll understand the audience and content trends that drive this industry. And that’s what all of this is really about: knowing what audiences actually want! Brandon Katz is the Director of Insights & Content Strategy at Greenlight Analytics where he focuses on evaluating the ever-fluid media landscape to unearth understanding, opportunity and value. Greenlight Analytics is the entertainment intelligence consulting company redefining how Hollywood finds, understands, and activates audiences. Prior to joining Greenlight Analytics, he served as the senior entertainment industry strategist at Parrot Analytics, and as a full-time entertainment industry reporter covering the Xs and Os of Hollywood, most notably with TheWrap and the Observer.
One type of sleep linked to dramatically lower risk of dementia, Parkinson's and 81 other diseases
Greater REM sleep was linked to 80% lower Parkinson's risk and 46% lower dementia risk in a major study of over 95,000 adults tracked for years.
“Shark Tank” star calls out cohost Kevin O’Leary for going ‘too far’ on TV show: ‘What pisses me off’
Robert Herjavec said drama that happens on the show is “not” acting: “When we’re in the moment, it’s very real.”
Chicago Cubs TikTok Microdrama Tests The Reach Of Sports Brands
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Fox Global Keys on Content Creators, Microdramas With Mipcom Slate
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Open science is compatible with research security, says Canada’s chief science advisor
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Studios in China are turning to models from ByteDance and Kling to generate 100-minute short dramas for less than $3000.
Will AI kill the Asian entertainment industry, or reinvent it?
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Tony Gilroy on leaving the politics of ‘Andor’ behind for his 9-composer music drama ‘Behemoth!’
Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!”.
Tony Gilroy on leaving the politics of 'Andor' behind for his 9-composer music drama 'Behemoth!'
Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!” premiered over the weekend as the centerpiece of the New York Film Festival. Gilroy’s first film since the Star Wars series “Andor” concluded its acclaimed two-season run,
Tony Gilroy on leaving the politics of 'Andor' behind for his 9-composer music drama 'Behemoth!'
Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!” | WWL