Four New York film production veterans, spanning the perspectives of unions, vendors and city government, agreed that the looming IATSE strike threat will restrict shoots this year before a rebound in 2025. Tommy O’Donnell, President of Theatrical Teamsters Local 817, which represents workers in transportation, casting, and locations for film, TV and Broadway, sees signs … Read more
Cinema owners, studios and indie distributors gathering in Las Vegas this week for exhibition’s biggest confab seek visibility into a theatrical landscape gut-punched by Hollywood strikes last year just as a post-Covid recovery was revving up. Production halted for months led to fewer releases on the schedule. But there’s reason for optimism, from Dune 2 … Read more
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher called out the misogyny that dogged her in strike negotiations and coverage, saying it was “disgusting.” She’s opined on that before but remarks today met a particularly receptive audience at the annual gala of New York Women In Film & Television where she was honored. Drescher wasn’t able to attend … Read more
Hasbro fell short of Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimate for fourth-quarter earnings, blaming a 31% drop in 2023 entertainment revenue on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The toymaker also disappointed the Street with its 2024 outlook, particularly an expected 7% to 12% drop in consumer products sales, a category that typically accounts for more than … Read more
Lionsgate Television Chairman Kevin Beggs says a transformed marketplace has taken shape in the wake of last year’s dual strikes and waves of cost-cutting affecting many TV players. “They’re ordering fewer shows, and there’s a lot of focus on the budget levels of those shows and a little more financial discipline compared to the bake-off … Read more
Lionsgate posted better-than-expected earnings in its fiscal third quarter, even as the dual strikes of 2023 took a bite out of its television business. The company, which is poised to split into two separate publicly traded entities in the coming months, reported adjusted earnings per share of 27 cents in the quarter ended December 31. … Read more
EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. studios are aware of the dangers behind “making a wholesale shift to AI,” according to the CEO of a leading artificial intelligence dubbing outfit that says its content has been viewed by more than 1 billion people in the past year. Jesse Shemen, who runs Papercup, was speaking with Deadline after taking … Read more
Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley who has stayed bullish on the movie theater business despite its recent trials, is now warning investors that the arrival of a “down box office year” has made him “increasingly cautious.” In a note to clients about his 2024 outlook, Wold wrote that he expects the stock performance … Read more
U.S. employment rose in November as the jobless rate dipped. Labor settlements in both Hollywood and Detroit helped boost total non-farm payroll jobs by 199,000 last month. Unemployment edged down to 3.7%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics in its monthly report — an unexpectedly strong number. The motion picture and sound recording … Read more
Actors have officially given the stamp of approval for their latest deal with the studios. SAG-AFTRA, which opened the ratification vote on November 14, has revealed that 78.33% of ballots were in favor of the November 8 tentative agreement with the AMPTP. That number is much higher than many expected given some of the noise … Read more
