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Bishops around the world ask for prayers for Pope Leo XIV’s health
Prayers for the pope’s health have been pouring in from all over the world.
'SNL' takes aim at Kevin O'Leary and his Utah data center
James Austin Johnson played Kevin O'Leary on "Saturday Night Live" this week, addressing the dispute around the investor's Utah data center project.
Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest: Oliver Glasner's Selhurst Park return ends in defeat as Eagles complete remarkable comeback
Report and free match highlights as Crystal Palace come from behind to beat Oliver Glasners Nottingham Forest 3-1 in their first reunion since his summer exit; Dan Ndoye gave Forest the lead before goals from Daichi Kamada, Jefferson Lerma and Yeremy Pino completed a turnaround
Bob Chesney speaks following UCLA's 17-15 victory over Oregon
Bob Chesney has led a severe turnaround for UCLA's football program. UCLA got a 17-15 win over Oregon.
How Egyptian femtech is tackling taboos around women's health
Cultural taboos and a lack of understanding can be a barrier for women to access healthcare in Egypt, alongside the cost of treatment. But the country's budding femtech sector is creating new pathways…
Memorial Health urges flu vaccinations ahead of peak season
Richie said getting vaccinated can help protect both the individual and those around them.
CEO SUNDAY: Denny’s CEO shares the simple rule guiding his turnaround of the iconic diner chain
As Denny’s pursues its turnaround strategy, CEO Christopher Bode says staying focused on the company’s biggest priorities is critical to avoiding “organizational creep."
Declan Rice ‘very happy' as ‘huge' Arsenal deal close
Declan Rice smiling with Community shield winners medal around his neck
New 'Age-Positive Public Health' movement launches in Maine
The Maine Council on Aging (MCOA) and Maine Public Health Association (MPHA) have launched a new Age-Positive Public Health movement to help make Maine a place where longer lives are healthier lives. According to a joint news release, the partnership brings aging and public health leaders together around a simple idea: Mainers are living longer, and we need to be much more intentional about helping people live these additional years in good health.
Israel's hottest degrees: medicine leads demand as AI expands, computer science declines
Some 350,900 students are expected at 57 institutions, a 2.1% increase; around 70,000 served in the military reserves last year, while women account for 58.6% of enrollment and 61% finish bachelor's degrees on time, versus 43% across the OECD
Rumor: Apple to Announce New Partnership With ADT
Apple may be planning to announce a new partnership with home security company ADT, alongside the introduction of its all-new smart home hub, according to several clues. Apple has invited the media to a "Welcome home" experience in New York on Tuesday, October 13, so the partnership could be made official on that day. Since around July, ADT has posted "Low Voltage Technician" job listings in various U.S.
CVS Health (CVS) Opens New Pharmacy Sites As Undervalued Narrative Holds
CVS Health (CVS) is expanding its pharmacy-focused format by opening nearly 20 smaller neighborhood locations across the US in 2026, including a new Roxbury site in the Boston area. Recent headlines around CVS Health have mixed signals for investors, with Medicare Advantage star rating setbacks and a legal probe weighing on sentiment, while the extended Cardinal Health distribution deal and a reaffirmed dividend provide a steadier backdrop. Even after a one-day share price decline of 1.87%...
Fantastic photos from Red River Rivalry as Oklahoma upends Texas
There was excitement all around the Texas State Fair and it continued in the Cotton Bowl as Oklahoma jarred top-ranked Texas.
Americans trust science more than peers around the world, survey shows
Just 40 percent of Americans reported a lot of confidence in U.S. hospitals and health clinics, the same proportion as in Portugal and Uruguay.
Wellcome Global Monitor 2026: Trust in science has declined worldwide, but the picture varies sharply by region
Based on surveys of more than 140,000 people in 140 countries, the Wellcome Global Monitor shows that trust in science has fallen since the Covid-19 pandemic and is lowest among people who feel the systems around them are not working for them.
Why Maple Leafs Traded Nicolas Roy to Avalanche
The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t keep Nicolas Roy around very long. They traded for him from the Vegas Golden Knights and then sent him away to the Colorado Avalanche in another trade less than a year later. Now on Saturday, they’ll get to see Roy again. Roy and his Avs will take on the Maple […] The post Why Maple Leafs Traded Nicolas Roy to Avalanche appeared first on HEAVY.
Scenes from the 34th annual Apple Scrapple Festival in Bridgeville
Take a walk around the 34th annual Apple Scrapple Festival in Bridgeville on October 10, 2026.
Is International Business Machines (IBM) Stock Worth More Than Its Cash Flow Suggests?
International Business Machines has almost doubled shareholders' money over the past 5 years, yet after a sharp setback this year and fresh headlines around quantum computing and AI, the key issue for you is whether the current share price lines up with the cash the business is expected to generate. With IBM stock now around US$227 a share, the gap between the recent price path and its cash flow story matters more than ever. IBM has delivered a 99.1% total return over 5 years, which puts...
LGBTQ groups issue open letter condemning political discourse around transgender people
Transgender rights have again become a focal point in South Carolina’s U.S. Senate race after President Donald Trump used an anti-transgender slur while critici
Matthew Lillard recalls thinking post-“Scream” night shoot that movie was ‘lame’ and he’d become a TV star
Around this time, he filmed a pilot that never aired.
Weekend Reading on Women's Representation: Arizona Congress Candidate Speaks Out About Her Rape, 'It’s OK to Talk About It’: Will Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Run for President?
Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment! —Friday, Oct. 9, marked 115 years since the men of California went to the polls to decide whether the women they lived alongside would be permitted to join them there. —Bernadette Greene-Placentia, the Democratic nominee in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District with a real chance to upset her opponent, was reportedly raped while fixing one of her yard signs. "She chose to share her story because she knows many survivors struggle in silence, and she hopes that by speaking about her experience, others will know they are not alone," said a campaign spokesperson. —Pew Charitable Trust reports that 37 percent of Americans now believe a woman will not be elected president in their lifetime. I urge women like AOC to seriously consider a presidential bid in 2028. —The poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for her genre-defying work. Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded 122 times to 104 men and just 18 women. ... and more.
Jim Cramer Breaks Down the Complicated Story Behind CVS Health’s (CVS) Decline
During the October 6 episode of Mad Money, Jim Cramer examined whether CVS Health Corporation’s (NYSE:CVS) turnaround still has room to run after the stock’s sharp retreat from its summer highs. CVS ranked ninth among 10 stocks screened for a potential bear market. The criteria behind its inclusion offer another way to assess the turnaround […]
WBN, Xbox and the CXO Summit: This Week's Top Five Stories
This week's top stories include, WBN on Europe prioritising risk strategy, Asha Sharma's plans for Xbox and discussions around AI at the CXO Summit
Apple's All-New Home Hub Will Be Revealed October 13: What to Expect
Apple reportedly plans to unveil an all-new smart home hub as part of the "Welcome home" product launch it announced for Tuesday, October 13. Our image above is just a rough concept based on rumored design details, so be prepared for the device's actual appearance to be different. The device will likely be unveiled in a press release shared on the Apple Newsroom website at around 9 a.m.
190K subscribers gone: YouTuber loses channel over new horror game
Ten years of work, around 3,000 videos and 190,000 subscribers – all gone because a YouTuber showed footage from the new horror game Hellraiser: Revival. What makes the case particularly controversial is that he claims to have censored the explicit scenes.
No Celtic deal for Bakayoko, and rightly so
Contrary to rumours flying around over the last few days, Celtic will NOT be offering a contract to former French international Tiemoue Bakayoko…Tiemoue Bakayoko of AC Milan celebrates with the fans...
World Mental Health Day: let’s talk and listen
World Mental Health Day on October 10 raises awareness around mental health. Find out what the EU is doing to improve our mental well-being.
Latino nonprofits start their own shops to make helping small businesses their business
Despite both a rise in costs and fears around immigration crackdowns, some Latinos are committing to championing other Latino entrepreneurs by offering access to a storefront.
Mission Lotería bets on brick-and-mortar as Latino makers face high costs
Despite both a rise in costs and fears around immigration crackdowns, some Latinos are committing to championing other Latino entrepreneurs by offering access to a storefront.
Gears of War: E-Day Sold 168,000 Copies on Steam but Xbox Game Pass Players Generated 130% More Revenue
We recently reported that Gears of War: E-Day wasn't having the best launch week over on Steam, but according to Alinea Analytics's Rhys Elliott, Steam doesn't even account for half of the game's revenue or owner base. The analytics firm estimates that Gears of War: E-Day sold around 230,00...
Player Availability Report: #SKCvPOR
Player Availability Report is SportingKC.com’s look at the latest status updates around the team ahead of upcoming matches and is presented by Saint Luke’s. All details listed are from the league’s official Player Status Report that is submitted the day prior to the match. Sporting Kansas City returns home this
Claremont businesses lead fall community cleanup effort
Businesses are leading Claremont's annual fall cleanup effort, with volunteers from local companies gathering litter around the city.
Mike Ditka tributes pour in from former President Obama, Chicago's sports teams and around the NFL
Mike Ditka, known as "Iron Mike," has died at 86.
Mike Ditka tributes pour in from former President Obama, Chicago's sports teams and around the NFL
Mike Ditka was “Iron Mike” as a player who revolutionized the tight end position and later became the easily recognizable and often imitated fiery, mustached and sweater vest-wearing “Da Coach” of the Chicago Bears during a Super Bowl-winning tenure.Ditka died Friday at 86, his family announced in a statement.
Mike Ditka tributes pour in from former President Obama, Chicago's sports teams and around the NFL
Mike Ditka, known as "Iron Mike," has died at 86
Mike Ditka tributes pour in from former President Obama, Chicago's sports teams and around the NFL
Mike Ditka, known as "Iron Mike," has died at 86
Assistant Professor of Climate Data Science | The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
Boston University invites applications for a faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Environment. This tenure-track position in Climate Data Science , beginning on July 1, 2027, is part of the ongoing cluster hire in Environmental Data Science and complements faculty searches within the Faculty of Computing and Data Science.rnrnWe particularly welcome candidates whose research focuses on the physical basis of climate, climate variability, and climate change, and who employ data science methodologies to deepen our understanding of how the climate system is changing and how these changes affect the global environment. Areas of interest include—but are not limited to—the changing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events; interactions between the atmosphere and terrestrial, oceanic, biospheric, and cryospheric systems; and improved understanding of Earth system predictability at seasonal, decadal, and longer time scales. We envision this position playing a central role in connecting and enhancing existing departmental strengths in climate-related research and teaching, including terrestrial and marine biogeosciences, land surface and coastal processes, paleoclimatology, energy and economic policy, and environmental sustainability. This faculty member will also contribute to university-wide interdisciplinary initiatives — including the Urban Biogeoscience and Environmental Health (URBAN) program, the Institute for Global Sustainability, and the Center for Climate and Health at the School of Public Health — and is expected to develop collaborative ties with the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, where shared interests in machine learning, large-scale data analytics, and Earth system modeling provide natural ground for joint advising, co-teaching, and grant development. This hire reflects our commitment to advancing interdisciplinary scholarship at the intersection of climate and data science. This position contributes to the University convergence themes of Global Sustainability as well as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Computing that are core pillars of BU's cross-disciplinary research priorities.rnrn Position Qualifications:rn Candidates should have a PhD or equivalent degree, demonstrated ability to obtain external funding to support their program of research and scholarship, and a commitment to excellence and innovation in teaching, education, and mentorship of students. The successful applicant will be expected to supervise graduate research in Ph.D. programs, teach at all levels in the Earth Environment curriculum, and maintain an externally funded research program. We seek applicants whose research complement strengths in the Department and around the University. For more information about the Department, see
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.
Trump administration relaxes rules around political events for Blanche, other Senate-approved appointees
The Department of Justice is making it easier for Attorney General Todd Blanche and other Senate-confirmed DOJ appointees to participate in political activities, according to a new internal memo obtained by PBS News.
The Science Behind Why Dietary Changes Rarely Stick
Learning new eating habits isn’t simple. Our pre-existing feelings around food—whether it’s a distaste for olives or a love of pastries—could make it harder to learn new eating habits, according to new research from Yale School of Medicine.
Scientists Study Erosion at Aquinnah Cliffs
The annual Coastal Conference highlighted work at the Gay Head Cliffs and other research going on around the Vineyard.
Overworld Collectibles aims to build a third space for Denton gamers
At Overworld Collectibles, customers gather around tables to sort through trading cards and discuss their collections, surrounded by shelves of video games and other memorabilia lining the small store.
Scientists Uncover Two Hidden Forms of Disorder in Next-Generation Semiconductors
A study of twisted two-dimensional semiconductors reveals how subtle material disorder can emerge at different spatial scales. Two distinct forms of hidden disorder may influence how ultrathin semiconductors emit light. One extends across relatively large areas of the material, while the other is concentrated around tiny defects. A new theoretical approach offers a way to
Deep-sea expedition around the Hawaiian Islands includes 10 local scientists, students, educators
The expedition will utilize remotely operated vehicles and seafloor mapping technologies to explore never-before-seen ridges, seamounts and abyssal plains throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Strengthens New York City's Special Pathogen Preparedness through Specialized Hands-On Training
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue today hosted around fifty health care workers from NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, and NYC
Amazon’s new Kindles appear to have a light leak problem
Reddit users are reporting shadows and visible LEDs around screen edge of new Kindles.
Arizona high school football scores, Oct. 8-9, 2026
Here is a list of updated high school football scores from around Arizona for games played Oct. 8-9, 2026.
'This is a Chance to Build Something New': Stand Up for Science Rallies Around America’s Compact For Higher
Speakers highlighted importance of knowledge development; called on university leadership to stand support of academic freedom in higher ed.
Gears of War: E-Day sells 230K copies
Gears of War: E-Day has sold 230K copies since its advance-access launch on October 1 and full release on October 6. Steam accounts for 168K of those, with Xbox (console and PC) selling 62K. But there’s more to this story, as Xbox makes up the bulk of revenue. E-Day is the best-reviewed Gears game in nearly two decades (and the best one ever made, in my opinion). The Coalition has made a banger here (it’s currently in my top 10 of the year). Despite E-Day’s undeniable quality, this is a soft result. And it’s down to the business model, really. E-Day has made $37M so far, thanks to the Premium upgrade On Xbox, Game Pass is cannibalising much of the premium revenue. Our estimates show that 1.7M folks accessed E-Day via their subscription rather than a copy. But Xbox is having it both ways – or having it halfway, at least – via its Premium Edition Game Pass upgrade. Game Pass subscribers could pay $30 (or their local equivalent) for up to five days of early access starting October 1. Our estimates show that of the 1.7M who accessed E-Day through Game Pass, 722K paid for the upgrade. Between the review embargo lifting on October 1 and the full release, E-Day managed to shift another 250K early-access upgrades – no doubt helped by the campaign’s rave reviews. So despite selling far fewer copies on Steam, Xbox accounts for almost three-quarters of the revenue (roughly $26M of the $37M, versus about $11M on Steam). So “230K copies” undersells the paying audience. Including the 722K upgrades, nearly 950K people actually paid something for E-Day. The $30 upgrade is a halfstep from cannibalisation, but will Xbox go all the way? While E-Day is a sublime game, these are soft numbers for a flagship when Xbox badly needs revenue wins. E-Day sold 62K copies on Xbox against 722K Premium upgrades, so for every one copy sold on Xbox, nearly 12 Game Pass upgrades were sold. The $70 premium SKU is – functionally – dead on Xbox. Normally you can’t see what a Game Pass player would have paid, because the game’s just there in the subscription. But the $30 early-access upgrade estimate shows that 722K people demonstrated they’ll spend real money on this game. In a world without day-one Game Pass, many of these folks would have bought E-Day at $70. They paid $30 for five days early access to something they don’t own. Xbox is, in effect, charging its most valuable customers the least, based on a hangover from a tried-and-exhausted strategy from a previous administration. Those 722K willing-to-pay players generated about $21.7M via the upgrade. If three quarters of this group – mostly US and European audiences – bought E-Day outright, that’s nearly $40M. Of course, Game Pass does bring in meaningful recurring revenue, and E-Day is adding value for hundreds of thousands of subscribers. However, Game Pass is no longer growing, so Xbox is at a crossroads. Xbox is reportedly looking to do a Netflix and bolt on an ad-supported tier to pad it further. But that will just set a new floor, and leadership keeps telling us the priority now is revenue growth, which is subscriber-speak for ARPU. Xbox has already pulled Call of Duty from day-one Game Pass after day-one inclusion hammered its sales, with new CoD titles now arriving on the service around a year late. We know that some Microsoft executives believe the service devalues games outright, and rumours (which Microsoft has dismissed so far, to be fair) suggest that day-one releases could be taken off Game Pass. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe When a game this well-reviewed does this softly on its home platform, the model – not the game – gets brought into question. What else E-Day’s early adopters have played (including this month so far) Looking at E-Day‘s players on Xbox, most have played the franchise before (86% have played Gears 5, 76% Gears 4), and every game on the crossover list is either a shooter or a title from an Xbox-owned studio (though Game Pass is inflating those numbers, of course, more on that later): As for what else Xbox’s E-Day players have played this month, the top three are Fortnite (16%), Roblox (7%), and Call of Duty (6%). Another 5% played Minecraft Dungeons II, which is also on Game Pass and launched a couple of days before Gears‘ advance-access date. Many Game Pass players are happy to check out most big new additions. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Over on Steam, the top crossover games are also mostly shooters (slightly more PC-coded ones), including Space Marine 2, which was itself heavily inspired by Gears: Looking at what E-Day‘s Steam players are into this month shows who they are – as subscriptions don’t skew the data. The top three are Wardogs (13%), Deadlock (12%), and CS2 (10%), so you’ve got the restless shooter crowd checking out the new hotness. A little further down are Helldivers 2 and Space Marine 2, your co-op PVE shooter players who’ll feel right at home in Horde mode. Game Pass is skewing the playtime distribution on Xbox Looking at the playtime distribution in our platform, E-Day players on Steam are – relatively speaking – playing for longer: 54% of E-Day players on Xbox have played for five hours or less (versus 32% on Steam) 19% of Xbox players played for over 15 hours (versus 33% on Steam) 14% of Xbox players played for over 20 hours (22% on Steam) The absolute number of people playing for over 15, 20, and 50 hours is, of course, bigger on Xbox, thanks to the sheer volume of folks who came in through Game Pass (upgraders included). None of that is cause for alarm. Game Pass is the reason Xbox playtime skews lower, as when a game is free to try, people try it and bounce without putting in even an hour (17% under an hour on Xbox versus 6% on Steam). Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe The subscription brings in tourists alongside the committed, dragging down the average even when the game is excellent (but also perhaps winning over the uninitiated). It’s standard across every subscription-included title, on PS Plus too. Forza Horizon 6, for instance, had 11% of its Xbox players bounce under an hour, versus just 2% on Steam. So, Xbox’s crossroads So there we have it. Gears of War: E-Day is an incredible game whose revenues have been stifled by subscription inclusion and exclusivity. It’s the best-reviewed entry in the series in fifteen-odd years, but it still turned into one of the year’s softer flagship launches, not because players didn’t want it, but because Xbox’s own storefront gave its most willing buyers a reason not to pay. Which leaves Xbox at a crossroads. Will it keep making Gears games when the financial returns are this thin and the margins this low? And if it does, does the next one arrive off Game Pass at day one – the way CoD now does, or even on PlayStation? I think it should. Alright, back to E-Day for me! The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]
Orioles’ cuts to business operations staff raises questions around baseball operations
This week’s layoffs across the Baltimore Orioles’ business operations, which affected more than a dozen employees, has become another self-inflicted headache for the organization.
Pharmaceutical innovation: a strategic investment in health and growth
Governments around the world are confronting increasingly common challenges: how to drive economic growth, address demographic changes and productivity pressures, and how to strengthen national resilience. Investment in health is fundamental to achieving these goals, and medicines and vaccines are central to this effort. We are at the cusp of the next golden age in...
Trump launches new effort to oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook
President Donald Trump is doubling down on efforts to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, forming a “committee of inquiry” centered around alleged false statements she made “in connection with one or more mortgage instruments,” according to a statement released by the White House on Friday.
Employee killed in shootout with 2 armed suspects at L.A. business
An employee was shot and killed after confronting two armed suspects who entered a business in Los Angeles Thursday evening, authorities said. The shooting occurred around 7:30 p.m. at a business i…
Braves Minor League Recap: Isaiah Drake Records a Hit
(1-4) Glendale Desert Dogs 2, (2-3) Peoria Javelinas 10 box score It was another bad day for the Glendale team all around. They have been struggling to get any sort of good play from the team. and after allowing six runs in the second inning of this game it was a quick decline to a […]
Break gives Hayen's Burnley a new sense of positivity
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How to run a successful Airbnb: Short-term rental strategies
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Spurs coach Mitch Johnson lauds Devin Vassell's growth as leader
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War’s Hidden Mental Health Toll on Children with Disabilities
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3rd annual NMU Mind over Miles 5k promotes mental health awareness
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Christa Pike's health has seen 'profound turnaround' in last three days, lawyers say
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McCullough's Positive Presence Sets the Tone for the Marlins' Future
The mood around Miami has been moving forward, as a winning culture is arising in South Florida
Vance, Rubio brush off questions about claim that Guilfoyle asked donor to pay $100K Amex bill
Allegations by former congressional candidate Eric Deters are the latest controversy to swirl around the U.S. ambassador to Greece.
Lions Trade Buzz Heats Up Around $20M Cornerback
Now that the Detroit Lions have moved on from pursuing Joey Porter Jr., it appears the cornerback most connected to the team is Kristian Fulton of the Kansas City Chiefs. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN poured more fuel on the speculation fire by offering Fulton as a strong option to tie to the Lions before the […] The post Lions Trade Buzz Heats Up Around $20M Cornerback appeared first on HEAVY.
Trump bucks and the politics of mailing checks
The checks started going out last week, nearly one million of them, and mostly to battleground states. With a return address for the U.S. Treasury and a letter enclosed signed by President Donald Trump, these one-time checks for $500 were ostensibly government rebates for Obamacare enrollees who overpaid. In the accompanying letter, however, Trump attacks his predecessor and talks about his record in office on an important issue he’s not polling well on, which makes it seem more like the most expensive political mailer in U.S. history. The average piece of direct mail costs between 30 cents and $3, according to Mail Processing Associates, a print, mail, and fulfillment company. At $500 a pop plus roughly 50 cents each to issue the paper check, the cost of Trump’s healthcare mailer sent to more than 950,000 enrollees comes in at more than $475 million. Trump’s midterm healthcare message “For years, the Biden Administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare dot gov,” Trump wrote in the letter. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!” In the letter, Trump makes false and misleading claims about his administration’s record on healthcare costs, an issue Democrats have a 20 point advantage on over Republicans, according to a recent poll from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy think tank. Trump touts his administration’s TrumpRX program, which he claims is “delivering massive discounts.” However, new research from KFF found that of a selection of drugs available on the TrumpRX platform, just five were the lowest price, while 13 were the highest price. Trump also falsely claims in the letter that he’s fighting to lower healthcare costs. In reality, average monthly premium payment costs for enrollees rose 58% under Trump while marketplace sign-ups declined 5%, per KFF. Under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it’s estimated 10 million more Americans will be uninsured by 2034. You get a check and you get a check and you get a check Trump’s long promised cash outs to his fans, from his days as a casino operator and gameshow host to his presidency. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the first Trump administration made the unprecedented move to put Trump’s name on checks that went out under the CARES Act (notably the $500 refund checks this time around don’t feature Trump’s name). Ever since, Trump’s been chasing that high. In his second term, Trump’s promised more stimulus that never arrived, like refund checks from DOGE cuts and tariffs, while he said at his party’s convention last month that he’d give out $5,000 checks to everyone if Republicans win in November. In reality, DOGE overstated its cost cutting and Trump’s government actually now spends more than former President Joe Biden’s, while Trump’s tariffs actually grew the trade deficit. His proposal for $5,000 checks would add about $1.2 trillion to the national debt. The problem is there’s no money to give. These $500 checks — plus $90 Medicare rebate checks also going out as well as $250 deposited this week in some Trump Accounts for kids courtesy Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and his wife Susan — represent the closest Trump’s going to get to making good on his promise to deliver cash fast. And the checks seem especially targeted. Though the $500 checks went out to enrollees in one of 30 states that use the federal HealthCare dot gov marketplace, a Reuters review found 71% of the payments, or $339 million, went to enrollees in 13 states that have the most competitive elections for governor and U.S. Senate. Most Americans don’t buy it Could Trump bucks sway the election? An Economist-YouGov poll found 57% of U.S. adults doubt Trump will deliver on his promise for $5,000 checks, compared to 21% who do. “I’m waiting on my DOGE check and I’m still waiting on my tariff check,” one 2024 Trump voter who’s since turned on him told a recent focus group. “It felt like kind of trying to buy people’s votes, which honestly felt like in elementary when the class president was like, hey we’re going to take you to the water park if you vote for me. It’s like, I don’t think it works like that.” But for voters in swing states who got a check, it could still matter. One survey published in 2022 found receiving a physically personalized check in the mail during the pandemic was associated with a much greater self-reported likelihood of voting for Trump in 2020, and those gains mainly came from out partisans. The issue for Trump comes if these checks are mostly going to Obamacare enrollees whose premiums have gone up by more than just $500 since he took office and who view the money as something like a bribe before the election rather than an actual long-term solution to lowering household costs. Spending $500.50 per mailer would be absurd as a normal campaign expenditure, but since Trump’s checks and letter are a government rebate, his campaign and super PAC didn’t have to spend a dime and he got out his message regardless. If enough voters in key states are swayed by the one-time payment, it could prove to be the best $0 the Trump campaign spent. Subscribe [ ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) [ Why independent candidates are making independence central to their brand ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) Hunter Schwarz · Oct 6 [ Read full story ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) [ ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) [ These designers and grocery nerds will brand Mamdani’s NYC grocery stores ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) Hunter Schwarz · Oct 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) Trump wants to turn his first-ever golf course into a government course for presidents
Tottenham’s 47-Game Comeback Drought Puts Leadership Under Scrutiny
Tottenham’s inability to recover after conceding first has become a major concern as Roberto De Zerbi attempts to turn around the club’s winless Premier League start.
Arts and Entertainment lineup for Oct. 9-19
Note: for a complete list of calendar events from around Garfield County and the Roaring Fork Valley, go to http://www.postindependent.com/entertainment/community-calendar/. Embervine: A Night of ’70s, ’80s and ’90s Hits What: Bring your friends and your...
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The Carter Center Launches ‘Far Away, Up Close,’ a Podcast Sharing Stories from the Front Lines of Peacebuilding and Global Health
On Oct. 14, The Carter Center will debut “Far Away, Up Close: Global Stories from The Carter Center,” an immersive, behind-the-scenes podcast about Carter Center staff working around the world to advance peace and improve health.
NASA releases Artemis 2 science data
Six months after its Artemis 2 mission flew around the moon, NASA has released the full science data collected from the flight.
Orioles news: General manager rumors, layoff fallout
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Restaurant, Texas Tech students' app, more make Lubbock business news
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They're helping influencers combat misinformation about menopause. Is it working?
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North Idaho bakery builds up skills from scratch
The Village Bakery owners, Dana and Todd Bellefeuile, have built their Hayden establishment around a workforce model that helps people with disabilities develop skills for future employment and independent living.
A Business and Regulatory Navigator to Accelerate Electrification
Demand for electrification is moving faster than the system it connects to. Electric vehicles, heat pumps and electrified industrial processes are scaling1, and the the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) Presidency has set a global target of 35% of final energy demand met by electricity by 2035, up from around 21% today.2 What now
Better health begins with being heard
Orange County community leaders and advocates are helping shape UC Irvine research around the women’s health issues that matter most.
Where did the Browns land in CBS Sports' Week 5 power rankings?
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US grants Aurora exemption for self-driving trucks safety feature
The U.S. Transportation Department said late Wednesday it approved a five-year exemption for Aurora and other self-driving trucking companies from rules that require drivers to place warning devices around a stopped truck.
Jane Goodall Portrait Goes on Display at the Science Museum
The Science Museum in London unveiled a stunning portrait of pioneering conservationist Dr Jane Goodall on the first anniversary of her death, honouring a scientist whose discoveries transformed our understanding of chimpanzees and the natural world. Now on free display, the portrait has been donated to the museum and joins the Science Museum Group Collection., , , , Widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential conservationists, Dr Jane Goodall was celebrated around the world for her...
Fire destroys Clymer barn, business
CLYMER – Fire destroyed a tarp business and barn on Ravlin Hill Road in Clymer on Tuesday – though the family’s home was saved. Firefighters from six area volunteer fire departments responded to the fire around 5 a.m. after Clymer firefighters called for mutual aid. Surrounding departments, starting with the Stanley Hose Company from Sherman, […]
Who Won August and September: Original Films or Franchises?
(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.) I just heard someone say that if you’re reading a pundit or data analyst, and they don’t tell you that they got anything wrong, they’re not a pundit but an “influencer”. I agree with that. You have to tell your audience when you get things wrong, or they won’t (or shouldn’t) trust you as much. Today, we’ve got another edition of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. In general, I’m patting myself on the back (and patting very hard) about a few things like IP at the box office, LIV golf, horror films, crowdfunding movies, superheroes, and old people going to the theaters. That said, I also made a couple of data mistakes on the streaming bubble popping and HBO’s datecdotes, so I’m not perfect. But first, I need your feedback... Subscribe Follow-Ups: What Should We Call Mid-Budget Movies Which Aren’t Cinematic Enough for Theaters But Are Too Expensive to Make Money on Streaming? After I asked for feedback on what we should call straight-to-streaming films that are too big to pencil out on streaming but not really big enough to resonate in theaters, I got some great suggestions from you all, including... “Moldilocks” from John Aboud “Little Big Indie” from Travis Frick1 “Midflicks” from Jonathan Funke. “Extra-Medium” from Jona Nwuke. (Read the explanation in the footnote.) Between these and Brandon Katz—who suggested “Bermuda Budget Triangle”, “The Platform Gap” and “The Distribution Deadzone”—we’ve got some excellent suggestions. And they’re better than my suggestion, the “Streaming Budget Dead Zone”, so let’s take a poll! The winning entry becomes the new term. Loading... RIGHT: LIV Golf is Fully Bankrupt…Is Anyone Else Next? A few years ago, I was always a bit perplexed at all the articles I’d read praising LIV Golf and their strategy to disrupt the PGA. LIV Golf, a brand new professional golf league, offered PGA stars ten times what they made on the PGA Tour to join their new league. And folks praised this strategy for its initial “success” in that a lot of big names did indeed leave the PGA. Yeah, of course the players came over. LIV Golf paid them so, so, so much more! But LIV Golf hadn’t discovered a way to increase potential revenue. So think about this in basic business terms… They paid much more in costs… …but had no real way to increase revenue. That’s not a strategy! That’s deficit financing. It won’t work unless you bankrupt the competition (and then turn around and pay those same golfers much, much less). It’s not a sustainable strategy and only lasts as long as the company/person/nation backing it decides they’re cool with losing money. For LIV Golf, that meant Middle East oil wealth, in particular Saudi Arabian money. Clearly, the current Iran War has hurt Middle East finances, so they need to trim their more exorbitant spending. And LIV Golf was part of that trimming. This should be a major warning for others. TGL’s parent company, TMRW Sports, just got a $1 billion valuation, despite TGL’s (the indoor golf league) horrible TV viewership of less than half a million viewers per match. Unrivaled, the women’s basketball league, just secured a $650 valuation, despite its horrible TV viewership and a new rival (Project B) entering the scene next year. To relate this to streaming, Hollywood should ask which streamers may have wealthy patrons funding their losses. (Let’s be clear: Google, Amazon and Apple.) Could those patrons lose their appetite? For Amazon, probably not. But Apple has a new boss, so maybe! WRONG: My Analysis of the Streaming Bubble Was Missing a Week I’m going to be congratulating myself a lot today, but I make mistakes too, like this data goof. When I last compiled the data on the decline in TV shows, I was missing one week at the end of June. If you look at the first image, you can see that one week was mislabelled as “July”. Mainly, this image got updated to show a 27% decline, not 29%: This change doesn’t really impact the overall analysis, but it is two percent better. By the way, through the third quarter, the decline increased and it’s now a 30% decrease since 2022. (I’ll write/visualize this in an upcoming article.) But I want you to trust me and my data. Especially these days, when many people are using LLMs that I know are inserting faulty data into their charts, I want to keep earning my audience’s faith. So that’s the accurate data. RIGHT: IP Remains Very, Very Popular In July, I wrote a giant (and I mean giant) article on Backrooms, Obsession, and the box office, going over what we know, what we don’t know about what works in theaters, looking at YouTubers, IP, the horror genre, comic book movies, and a whole lot more. The month of August really tested a lot of my theses and, being honest, mostly supported my arguments. Let’s start with IP. Looking at 8-Aug (the weekend after Spider-Man: Brand New Day came out) to 18-Sep (the weekend that Resident Evil came out, which I think provides a nice bookend to this time period), there were seven films based on pre-existing IP: Resident Evil (2026) ($126 million) Practical Magic 2 ($65 million) _Insidious: Out of the Furthe_r ($65 million) Coyote Vs. Acme ($59 million) Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie ($53 million) Tony ($15 million) Super Troopers 3 ($7 million) Compare those to the notable original films from the past month—I actually could have included more movies, but here are just thirteen, bringing us to an even twenty films—including.... The End of Oak Street ($54 million) Buddy ($26 million) Mutiny ($15 million) By Any Means ($15 million) The Dog Stars ($14 million) Runner ($14 million) One Night Only ($11 million) Hope ($8 million) Spa Weekend ($7 million) The Uprising ($6 million) Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma ($6 million) Onslaught ($3 million) Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man ($2.8 million) Here’s that in chart form: Five of the top six films in this time period were all based on IP. I made a big chart of films that grossed over $200 million at the box office before Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey hit theaters. Let’s update that chart! By the way, if you want to see how I categorized each film—so another bar chart—here it is: I know that many of my fellow critics/pundits/analysts dislike films based on IP and how Hollywood is making so many of them. And I’m sympathetic to this point of view. As I’ve written many, many times before, you need a balance between existing franchises, new IP, and original films. And Hollywood clearly needs to make more films like Resident Evil (a well-made film from a visionary director) and fewer Practical Magic 2’s (which didn’t get critical or customer buzz). But at some point, critics and pundits need to contend with what audiences are telling them: Movie-goers aren’t showing up to original films. Audiences are speaking with their dollars, telling you they want more IP and franchises. You can try to convince studio heads to make fewer IP-based films and franchises, but the data and numbers aren’t there. Instead, critics need to work harder to convince audiences to show up for original films. Aim your ire/concern at the average person, not studio heads.2 Because they’re just making the films that audiences are telling them to make. WRONG: Original Horror Films Didn’t Break Out I’ll be honest, even though I wrote an article casting some skepticism on the horror genre in July, if you asked me to make a prediction, I would have predicted that, in August, a new, original horror film would have blown up. No, seriously, I just assumed that Obsession and Backrooms presaged a change in audience behavior. But none of the buzzy new original horror films from August—Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Onslaught (not an action film in spite of the ads), The End of Oak Street, Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man, or _Buddy—_broke out. To be clear, exactly one of those films (Buddy) had good “ROI”, but again—I try to be specific in my language—none were “popular” in any broad sense of the word. None of them will be “saving” movies theaters like Backrooms or _Obsession_helped save the summer. The new Insidious film and Resident Evil, both based on IP, were far and away the biggest horror films since July. (We’ll see if this changes in October/Halloween season.) RIGHT: Stay Skeptical about Crowdfunding... I’ve long been skeptical about crowd-investing platforms as one of Hollywood’s saviors, mainly because there’s so much hype/buzz. People need to stay more skeptical about more things, explaining both the potential upside but also the downsides. In particular, the media often hypes crowdfunding at the start and never checks in on the actual results after they’ve come in later. And August gave us our first update! _Ice Cream Man—_directed by Eli Roth—grossed $6 million off of a $5.5 million budget. This is a production of The Horror Section, which was one of the first “crowd investing” studios with 2,400 investors, which means that 2,400 investors probably lost money. They certainly aren’t getting as great of returns as if they had just invested their dollars in the stock market. Hopefully Stiletto (Tagline: “Someone’s Going to Make it Rain Blood!”) does better next month. WRONG: Another Data Goof Here’s another data error. When the first episode of House of the Dragon came out, HBO put out that it had 21.5 million viewers in the first three days, and I read that to mean in the US…but no, it was global. So my US-only datecdotes charts shouldn’t have included it. We never got US-only numbers for the first episode, but for the final episode, HBO put out that it had 11 million US viewers. (And that global dropped to 21 million viewers.) Here’s the updated chart (which I’ve since used in the Streaming Ratings Report): Still, this show is absolutely huge. RIGHT: Superhero Films Remain Very, Very Popular After Supergirl flopped, I read a few takes that “comic book movies are going the way of the Western”. Post-Spider-Man: Brand New Day, that take didn’t age well. To be fair, I have a very nuanced take on the superhero genre right now; it’s down right now, for a lot of reasons. But it’s not “dead”. Maybe _Spider-_Man is just a really popular character? I saw that take, and it’s a fair counter-argument. (But pundits arguing that superhero movies were dead should have mentioned this $1.5 billion counter-argument…) But is it just Spider-Man? The next Avengers film already has $50 million in pre-sales (and I was skeptical that that film would do well) and the Avengers: End Game re-release topped the box office two weekends ago (over three original films). And I wouldn’t bet against Batman or Superman. So maybe it’s just Spider-Man, Batman, Superman and the Avengers. Oh, and Deadpool, of course. And Black Panther. And Wolverine. And probably the X-Men. Plus a well-made Wonder Woman or the Hulk film could break out. But that’s it! It’s just those ten characters/teams. Oh, what’s that? Lanterns is also doing well on HBO? (See previous section…) To be fair, I’m actually pretty sympathetic to the argument that more popular characters—like Spider-Man and Batman—anchor more popular films. In fact, I made that exact argument three years ago when I first wrote about the “Marvel-cession”. In many ways, you can blame The Guardians of the Galaxy for fooling Marvel Studios (and the rest of us) into believing that any character could pop. It turns out, the list of iconic characters is probably smaller than most people think. But it’s probably too early to say that superhero films and comic book movies are dead unless “death” means a slight decline over a longtime. RIGHT: Who Killed Theaters? Old People I get frustrated whenever I see headlines or analysis about how young people are “returning” to theaters. As I’ve detailed(for years), young people have always powered the US box office, despite narratives about “kids these days” and their “phones”. Really, what’s changed post-2020/pandemic is that old people aren’t going to the movies nearly as much. This summer, I saw a movie (from an older director) in a theater near a retirement community, and multiple older people at the theater were talking about how this was their first time seeing a movie in years. I dislike personal anecdotes, so YouGov can fill in the data, best summarized by this headline: “Who killed movie theaters? Not the youths”. According to them, 64% of people aged 18-29 have seen a movie in the last year, but only 30% of 65-and-older. 20% of 18-29 have seen a movie in theaters in the last week and 42% in the last month. Here’s the polling data: Most concerning? Many Americans (17%) think theaters are a worse or much worse experience than watching films at home. Slight WRONG: Hadestown Opens Big A live theater capture of the Broadway musical, Hadestown, made $20 million at the US box office, which begs the question: was I wrong to be skeptical about musicals a few years ago? Yes and no. On the one hand, $20 million is a far cry from being “popular”, so yeah, the genre isn’t that popular overall and Hadestown is one of the more popular musicals from recent years (i.e. the “Taylor Swift Data Fallacy” in action). On the other, I doubt filming this cost all that much, and I don’t think that they spent much on marketing, so this is a good source of ancillary revenue. Smaller Updates WRONG: As I mentioned in a Streaming Ratings Report, I underestimated the budget for Enola Holmes 3. It probably cost more like $50 million, if not more. But... I’m not sure that it really matters? At sub-10 million hours, prices have to come down to make this work. WRONG: Netflix is giving Ink a 27-day in theaters! To quote the kids/YouTubers these days, let’s go! Now I might actually have a chance to see Danny Boyle’s latest in theaters. I’d complained about this in a “Coming Soon” section, but I was heartened to read that Netflix is giving multiple films longer theatrical windows this year. RIGHT: Netflix is sending 4-5 films per year to theaters. Netflix is slowly but surely sending more and more films to theaters, as I cautiously predicted earlier this year. For now, it’s just three big films and a number of awards contenders, but still, this is great news. And they’ll be releasing box office grosses! Just this week, Ted Sarandos confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters 2 will come to theaters (and my guess is it performs in the box office top ten at a minimum). WRONG: Angel has 3 million subscribers! How do I know this? Well, they told Deadline, who reported it. I marked this as “wrong”, since they’ve doubled their subscribers in one year but, you know, they don’t really have a hit film to speak of and they’re still losing money. WRONG: Furious was only renewed for one more season. I accidentally wrote “two more seasons” in my latest “Renewals, Cancellations, Un-Orders and Removals Update”. RIGHT: House of David is ending with its third season. In July, Prime Video renewed House of David for a third season, as I just wrote in my latest “Renewals and Cancellations” report. Well, now it’s ending after that third season. Why? As I’ve been writing, its viewership wasn’t great. I got feedback that this show didn’t cost very much, but it cost enough that its limited viewership didn’t save it. WRONG: Adults was a Hulu original! So I missed Adults when it first came out last year; I saw that it aired on FX and just assumed that it was a linear-first program. Turns out, it aired three episodes on FX, but binge-released the rest of its episodes the next day on Hulu. Huh. So I should have covered it last year! But I just wrote about it. 1 “When I was a kid in the 90s, if you wore a t-shirt to school that wasn’t too big and also wasn’t too small, but somehow didn’t quite fit, we’d say you were wearing an “extra-medium” shirt.” 2 As always, a huge exception is Disney, which barely makes anything original anymore.
Epic used AI to find potential security flaws that could expose patient health records
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