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Fox Entertainment Studios Signs First-Look Deal With Lisa Hamilton Daly’s Cottage Industry Entertainment
Fox Entertainment Studios inked a first-look development and production deal with Cottage Industry Entertainment
The 5 best high-protein yogurts for gut health, according to dietitians
Gut-friendly yogurt isn't always easy to spot. Here are the best high-protein yogurts for gut health, chosen by dietitians.
Rockstar says GTA 6 PS5 Pro build ran at 60 fps with major performance compromises
Rockstar may have experimented with a higher framerate mode on the PS5 Pro. In a leaked interview, the studio explained that Leonida traffic and realistic NPCs proved obstacles. As with the Xbox Series X and base PS5, GTA 6 won’t exceed 30 fps on the enhanced PlayStation console.
Taeyeon to release 4th studio album 'Unspecial' on Nov. 30
Taeyeon of veteran girl group Girls’ Generation will release her fourth studio album, “Unspecial,” on Nov. 30, her first full-length record in near...
Disney Hollywood Studios to Open Indiana Jones-Inspired Play Area
Disney’s Hollywood Studios reveals plans to open a second play area in the park.
As local post-production dwindles, a Burbank studio makes cuts
Southern California's post-production industry has been reeling from an unprecedented industry contraction, partly due to the flight of filming to other states and countries.
Disney plans thousands of layoffs, targeting 20% cost savings
Some of Disney’s operations, which include theme parks, TV channels and the movie studio, will be affected disproportionately.
Wale and EQT Announce the Third Annual Gifted Week
This year's theme is named after his second studio album, 'Ambition,' and will spotlight the DMV's culture, creativity, and community across sports, art, and service
DC Studios announces shock shake-up: James Gunn and Peter Safran confirm their exit as new leadership takes over
Jeremy Latcham, an alum from Marvel, is set to take the reigns of DC.
James Gunn and Peter Safran are replaced as heads of DC Studios
Skydance made the announcement Monday. Gunn and Safran will be replaced by Marvel veteran Jeremy Latcham.
Apple's 'Harbor' app will make running local AI across multiple Macs trivial
An app presently called "Harbor" will help turn multiple Macs into a private AI inference server, keeping data local while also making the process of creating an AI server much easier.
It Sure Looks Like BioWare Had A Big N7 Day Blowout Planned Before It Was Shut Down
The Mass Effect studio was shuttered weeks before its annual celebration would have taken place
Arc Raiders devs say that using generative AI voice acting was necessary as actors "would just go crazy if they had to read all of that"
In a new video released by Embark Studios, audio director Bence Pajor spoke on the process of using generative AI and how he believes it was a benefit for VA's.
‘Spy x Family’ Season 4 and New Theatrical Film Set for 2027
Anime series “Spy x Family” will return for a fourth season in 2027. Japanese studio and exhibitor Toho Co., Ltd. is also lining up a new feature film to open in Japan the same year. To mark the news,...
House House clarifies use of AI tools in Big Walk's "final stage of development"
Studio issues statement after group of 2027 IGF jurors decline to vote for games that use generative AI during development
Skydance names Latcham to lead DC Studios, replacing Gunn and Safran
Nov 9 (Reuters) - Skydance on Monday named former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham to lead DC Studios, replacing co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, as it reshapes the superhero
Video: Enjoy the Festive Performances of Disney Jollywood Nights 2026 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Video: Enjoy the Festive Performances of Disney Jollywood Nights 2026 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
WWE® & The Walt Disney Company Expand Partnership with Two-Day Takeover of ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Featuring the John Cena Classic & Marvel Studios’ ‘Avengers: Doomsday’-Themed Worlds Collide®
WWE and Disney bring The John Cena Classic and 'Avengers: Doomsday'-themed Worlds Collide to ESPN Wide World of Sports Dec. 14-15. Tickets on sale Nov. 13.
Lincoln inks 25K sf lease with children’s entertainment company at Hollywood campus
Lincoln inked a lease deal with a children’s entertainment and media company for 25,000 square feet of space at its creative office campus in the Hollywood Media District, The Real Deal has learned. It is a five-and-a-half-year, full-floor lease and an HQ relocation for Moonbug Entertainment. The company’s deal is at Lincoln’s BA/SE, a campus of two four-story buildings located at 6555 Barton Street and 959 Seward Street. The campus is a short walk away from Hudson Pacific Properties’ Sunset Las Palmas Studios in Tinseltown. Lincoln Property Company’s Kent Handleman and Douglas Brown represented their company, and boutique brokerage CREA’s […]
From 'Dune' to 'Avengers: Doomsday,' see collectibles coming to theaters
Popcorn at the movies continues to have a pop culture moment. Studios are outdoing themselves with ever-extravagant popcorn buckets to accompany upcoming blockbuster films.
Fox Entertainment Studios Signs First-Look Deal With Lisa Hamilton Daly’s Cottage Industry Entertainment
Fox Entertainment Studios inked a first-look development and production deal with Cottage Industry Entertainment
Side Quests with Ray & Mata: We went on an acting boot camp
Northwood Acting Studio offers year-round acting classes for adults and young actors at its Shreveport location.
Business Profile: Sunflower Art Studio
Lika Gitis, the owner of Sunflower Art Studio in Gunbarrel, approaches art and life with unconcealed zeal. Gitis populates her studio with imaginative mascots including a 3D-printed Totoro (from Hayao Miyazaki's 1988 film) and a plush Van Gogh from the Denver Art Museum's exhibition of the painter. "They move around," she explained. But not, thankf...
How NRRI Can Rejuvenate Minnesota’s Natural-Resources Economy
The Duluth-based institute is poised to play a key role in new economic development up north.
Moana, The Invite and “What Customers Want”
(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 going, I wanted to acknowledge that two of the most important figures in sports media (at least to me and my team) are stepping back from two of the best sports shows of all time. First off, Ernie Johnson will no longer host possibly the greatest studio show in the history of all sports, Inside the NBA. (Charles Barkley has said in the past that he’s retiring when Ernie does, which would be even worse!) EJ is one of the greatest to ever do it, and the NBA won’t be the same without him. Next, Michael Wilbon is taking a leave of absence from PTI, my favorite sports news show. I’ve been listening to the podcast for this show since the 2010s, if not earlier, treating it as my daily sports page. Wilbon, along with his co-host Tony Kornheiser, is also one of the greatest to ever do it. The sports media landscape will be worse without these two in it! Wishing all the best to Wilbon and EJ. Okay, on to this week’s issue. We’ve got two big shows—the second season of Prime Video’s The Terminal List and the third season of Netflix’s _Nobody Wants This—_but both were bested by an acquired title landing on Netflix. All that, plus an Original film from Mexico makes the charts but a formerly huge foreign TV show does not, a notable creator’s latest standup special flops, Ted Lasso finishes as a top season four series of all time, big numbers for the NBA’s new season (finally), the top animated shows on linear and streaming, movie budgets, and all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. But first, on the film side, I’m taking a look at Moana and A24’s buzzy film from last summer. 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 October 19th to October 25th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Film - What Do Customers Want? If I could remove one phrase from entertainment journalism, it would be “what customers want”. It’s not that it’s not wrong per se, but I read a lot of articles that use that phrase, but then don’t provide evidence of what customers actually want.1 For example, look at the bar chart below. It shows customer interest as measured by how much customers actually spent at the American box office, comparing four films to four others. Which films would you say represent “interest” the most? The one on the left certainly seems bigger, right? So it seems like “customers” wanted to see those films more. So here’s that chart with names attached: That’s right, four very buzzy films—The Invite, You Can See Everything, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and Primetime—went up against four notable “flops” or underperformers—Moana, Disclosure Day, Minions and Monsters, and Supergirl—and the latter clearly had more interest. That doesn’t mean they’re more profitable2 or well-liked by critics, but if you’re asking what customers want to spend their money on, it’s those movies. I’d especially argue that You Can See Everything had about as much media coverage as a film can get—I saw/read about it constantly; whenever random NBA podcasts are talking about it, you know it’s everywhere—and yet Moana will likely best it. I bring this up, because this week features a showdown between a notable box office flop, Moana on Disney+, and a buzzy dramedy, The Invite on HBO Max. Moana was widely considered to be a flop, and it was a disappointment at the box office, only earning $126 million domestically (and $323 million globally). For the budget, that’s a big miss, down from Moana 2’s heights of $1 billion globally. But as I’ve written a few times this summer, we often confuse “this film is profitable” with “more customers want to watch this film”, which is not the same thing. But that’s the box office. Let’s look at the streaming numbers, starting with the Moana live-action reboot. Where, yes, Moana (2026) also disappointed. It made Nielsen, but under 10 million hours, which is low for kid-skewing Disney+ films: It did make Samba TV, but at tenth place for only one week: Those numbers stand in stark contrast to some of Moana’s previous superlatives on streaming. Moana (the original animated film) has made the Nielsen charts 130 times since 2021. Moana 2 opened to 33.3 million hours on Nielsen. Moana was the biggest film on streaming in 2023 and 2024, second in 2020 and 2021, and top six in 2022 and 2025. Moana 2 was second overall in 2025. To be clear, the Moana live-action reboot didn’t work, given how much it cost to make. It’s absolutely a disappointment. But more families paid to see it than people paid to see most of A24’s buzzy films this year, with one notable (horror film) exception. Okay, on to The Invite, A24’s buzzy summer release, which just came to HBO Max. Mainly, I’m curious: Who made money from this film? Or who lost money: the stars of The Invite or A24? No, seriously, read this Deadline article for the details. The Invite’s budget was allegedly “under $15 million” (so...$14 million?) then A24 bought it for “a sum north of $10 million”, which I saw elsewhere as over $12 million (so...$13 million?), but then it just made $26 million in the US. So basically, The Invite’s investors only made money after they sold foreign territories—it made $33 million overseas—but A24 might just make its money back in the US in the theatrical window, assuming it had $0 in marketing. I read one article analyzing this film’s marketing campaign which assumed no marketing spend, even though that article went on to detail how much marketing and PR and ads this film had. For what it’s worth, I saw a lot of marketing for it. A24 will likely just break even after factoring in other windows, but no matter what, this isn’t a hugely profitable juggernaut from Hollywood’s most-heralded film studio. (And, I’d note, most coverage of IP or superhero failures doesn’t account for profitability in future windows.) Really, I’m guessing that the stars—Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Ed Norton and Penelope Cruz—had or kept their backend, hence why they did so much press for this film, which brings me to my actual takeaway, which I just mentioned two weeks ago about Backrooms: I don’t trust A24’s reported film budgets anymore. Either A24 is strategically releasing low numbers to get good press or they’ve really cracked the code on how to make movies at prices no one else can approach. But I’m skeptical about that last point. You don’t keep elite talent happy by keeping budgets in check—see: Dan Lin getting fired—and by all accounts, A24 keeps talent very happy. There’s another option: not paying big name actors their actual quotes upfront by giving away back end/profit participation. Offering backend is one great way to keep the reported budget lower than it actually is, but it makes the film less profitable for A24. (By the way, I’m still running down the numbers on Backrooms’ budget. If you know its actual budget—not the reported $10 million number—reach out to me on my contact page. I’ve heard rumblings I’m on to something, but would love something more concrete.) Okay, enough asking questions about A24’s business model. To the streaming ratings! The Invite came to HBO Max on 23-Oct, so we could look at the streaming numbers now… …and I don’t have any for you since it didn’t make any of the charts I track. And that’s pretty much the moral of the streaming story. Even though it disappointed on streaming, Moana wins this round, too. Quick Notes on Film The only other notable new straight-to-streaming film was S_urviving Hurricane Otis_, a Mexican Original on Netflix. It made Nielsen with 3.4 million hours and Luminate with 4.8 million hours. Overall, I’d call that very solid for a foreign-language title, but still far from a hit. Overall, the Luminate and Nielsen charts felt very light this week. Gladiator II also came to Netflix non-exclusively (it’s still streaming on Paramount+) and had 5.0 million hours according to Nielsen. That’s up from the 3.7 million hours it had when it premiered on Paramount+ a year and a half ago. Netflix’s Animals fell to 4.9 million hours according to Nielsen and fell off the Samba TV charts. Peacock/Universal’s Disclosure Day actually made it for a third week, but only at 2.8 million hours. Apple TV’s Sacrifice was down to 2.7 million from 3.2 million. Still, for an Apple TV film to make two weeks is solid (for them). Toy Story 5 made a fifth week on the charts. 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… ...how The Terminal List did after a four-year break... ...what acquired surprising title topped the charts… …where Ted Lasso finished in the all-time charts… ...big NBA opening week ratings... …a controversial new reality show that missed the charts... ...what very notable foreign TV show flopped... ...all the flops, bombs and misses... ...and a whole lot 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.
Disney's Pixar names Jonathan Garson president as Jim Morris steps back
Nov 4 (Reuters) - Pixar Animation Studios said on Wednesday that veteran Jonathan Garson will become president on January 4, replacing Jim Morris, who will step back from day-to-day leadership
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Studio Officially Revealed
Nintendo finally pulls back the curtain
Bandai Namco Shuts Down Once-promising Studio after Colossal Failure
Unknown 9: Awakening was intended to be a major franchise for Bandai
New GTA 6 Surprise Gameplay Seemingly Released in Yet Another Viral Marketing Stunt
Rockstar Games appears to have released new footage from GTA 6, which also recreates the studio's real-life viral marketing in-game.
AI-powered fitness uses adaptive technology to support healthy aging
An AI-powered fitness concept aimed at helping people stay stronger and sharper as they age is gaining traction through local studios.
Gal Gadot Producing With Eye To Star 'Don't Feed The Lion' (Exclusive)
Gal Gadot producing with eye to star adaptation of Bianna Golodryga & Yonit Levi's book 'Don't Feed The Lion' in works at Fox Entertainment Studios.
Former ESPN star Sean Salisbury says political arguments wore out fans who just wanted sports
Sean Salisbury says ESPN lost its way by letting political and social debates overtake sports coverage, alienating the blue-collar viewers who tuned in.
Former Tubi chief executive takes top job at SiriusXM
Anjali Sud will succeed Jennifer Witz as chief executive of SiriusXM on Jan. 1.
Scoop: Lenders Set Foreclosure Auction for Radford Studio Center
Lenders led by Goldman Sachs have scheduled a Nov. 24 foreclosure auction of Radford Studio Center, the 55-acre Studio City lot that Culver City-based
Faculty, administrators spar over fate of the Center on Science and Technology, StudioLab to be spared
Tensions ran high between faculty affiliates of the Center on Science and Technology and University administrators as they discussed the Center’s reorganization in an Oct. 30 meeting. Amid the Center’s restructuring, the StudioLab will continue to exist.
James Gunn and Peter Safran are out in another DC Studios shakeup, Skydance appoints Jeremy Latchman
James Gunn and Peter Safran aren’t surviving the Skydance takeover of Warner Bros., after all. Skydance Motion Picture Group announced Monday that Gunn and Safran are stepping down after four years...
DC Studios heads James Gunn, Peter Safran confirm shock exit
DC Studios shock shake-up sees James Gunn and Peter Safran exit as new leadership takes over.
Story Of 'Mass Effect' Studio BioWare Set As Super Channel Feature Doc
The final days of 'Mass Effect' video games studio BioWare will be told in a doc from Shane Fennessey and Adam Scorgie for Canada's Super Channel.
Yakuza Creator's Gang of Dragon PS5 Game and New Studio Officially Dead
Dissolved days ago on 31st October
DC Studios bosses James Gunn, Peter Safran out in stunning shakeup
The DC Universe is getting a shakeup.
Halo: Campaign Evolved ‘Firefight’ update announced
Publisher Xbox Game Studios and developer Halo Studios have announced the Halo: Campaign Evolved “Firefight” update, which will add the four-player cooperative player-versus-environment…
Pop-up dance fitness with Lacey Cook
TUNKHANNOCK — En Pointe Dance Studio in Tunkhannock is hosting the second of two special pop-up Adult Dance Fitness classes on Nov. 17 at 7:40 and 8:30 p.m., cost is
Bill Hader’s $92M Comedy Stumbles at Box Office Despite No. 2 Opening
Bill Hader’s $92 million animated comedy just hit theaters, and Warner Bros. might already be sweating. The studio’s latest big-budget release opened at No. 2 domestically, and early numbers suggest i...
The fierce battle for James Bond is playing out in public
(CNN) — It’s been five years since Daniel Craig bid farewell to the role of 007 in “No Time to Die,” which ended with a closing credit promise that “James Bond will return.” And while corporate machinations have slowed the character’s reappearance, the battle to play cinema’s most famous secret agent is playing out more publicly than usual.In recent weeks, there have been numerous leaks to the press about the slew of big-name actors said to be auditioning for Bond in what will be the 26th film in the franchise, stoking debates among fans.Last month, it was reported that “final screen tests” were being held, with “One Night Only” heartthrob Callum Turner, “Slow Horses” actor Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor of “Challengers” said to be among those who made the cut. Then two surprise names entered the mix over the weekend, with Deadline and Variety reporting “Primetime” star Robert Pattinson and “X-Men” actor Nicholas Hoult had also undergone screen tests for the role. (Pattinson’s casting would be particularly remarkable given he’s also currently leading another major franchise as Batman, while Hoult is appearing as Lex Luther in the new “Superman” movies.)Other wild cards, per Variety? Pop singer Harry Styles or “The White Lotus” star Theo James. At 32, Styles would be the youngest choice, while 41-year-old James is the oldest.Representatives for the actors and Amazon MGM Studios, didn’t respond to requests for comment. None of the actors have revealed what the audition process has involved, although O’Connor told the BBC that being considered was an “incredibly bizarre pinch-me moment.”A ‘methodical’ huntProducer Amy Pascal, who steered “Spider-Man” to several reboots over her career, has said fans can expect a decision by the end of the year. “We are being really, really methodical,” she told Deadline this summer. “Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow. And it’s got to be something really different that is a stirring and exciting and different.”There is immense pressure to get the decision right. For one, the Bond franchise is big business, with Craig’s “No Time to Die” earning more than $900 million. (In 2022, Amazon paid $8.5 billion to acquire Bond’s parent company, MGM.) But the role also occupies huge cultural real estate as one of the most identifiably “British” characters in film.Just six actors have portrayed Bond. Sean Connery first appeared as the suave, shaken-not-stirred secret agent in 1962’s “Dr. No.” Tradition has it that the role should be played a Brit, although George Lazenby, an Australian, played Bond in 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”Pierce Brosnan, who played 007 in four movies, appeared to back Turner in an interview with Vanity Fair last week, saying the husband of Dua Lipa was a strong actor. “They all have a voice and a physique, and a presence on film,” Brosnan said of the final candidates. “They all have longevity as actors, all of these young men.”“Whoever plays the role, I wish him the very best of life and strength and courage,” he said.The next Bond movie will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, who knows a thing or two about working in a franchise, given he has overseen the “Dune” trilogy. At a Los Angeles gala on Saturday, Villeneuve appeared to be reveling in the media’s focus on the battle for Bond.“I should not comment right now because every word I’m going to say is going to be scrutinized,” Villeneuve told Variety. “I would just say that I’m having a great time.”The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.THE-CNN-WIRE (TM) & © 2026 CABLE NEWS NETWORK, INC., A TIME WARNER COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Yakuza Creator's Studio Officially Shuts Down After Backers Desert It
Nagoshi Studio and its expensive gangster drama Gang of Dragon are no more
XTR Joins Oscar Contender ‘Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon,’ Award-Winning Documentary About “The Quincy Jones of Saigon”
EXCLUSIVE: Global nonfiction entertainment studio XTR is coming on board Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon as the award-winning documentary ramps up its campaign for Oscar recognition. That bid was str...
Gang of Dragon developer Nagoshi Studio shutters months after NetEase cut funding
Studio was "officially dissolved by a shareholders' resolution" on October 31, 2026
Take-Two stock rises on 'unprecedented' preorders for 'Grand Theft Auto VI'
Take-Two Interactive reported earnings after hours on Monday. The studio said preorders for "Grand Theft Auto VI" will deliver "historic" gains.
‘Fastest entertainment property in history’: GTA VI arrives to test a thin November box office
A24’s You Can See Everything took No. 1 with $11.4 million as studios sat out Halloween. November brings Hunger Games, Focker In-Law, and Rockstar’s 13-years-in-the-making sequel.
Danielle Steel’s ‘The Whittiers’ In The Works As Series
The adaptation comes from Cottage Industry Entertainment & Fox Entertainment Studios.
Killing Floor Studio Cofounder Blames Woke Leftists For Layoffs
John Gibson stepped down from Tripwire Interactive over his support for an abortion ban
Xbox Confirms Wolfenstein 3 Coming Soon and Id Software Teases Next Doom Game
It's been a busy week at Xbox Game Studios, with the gaming giant celebrating its 25th anniversary with a slew of new additions to its Xbox Backwards Compatibility on PC program, but it seems as though Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma, had one more trick up her sleeve, announcing late on November 12 that...
The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel Name, Logo, Officially Revealed as Bethesda Marks 40th Anniversary
Bethesda Game Studios has officially announced the subtitle for The Elder Scrolls 6. The long-awaited follow-up to Skyrim will be called Sentinel, making its official title The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel. A logo has also been revealed. Both come as part of a video message from longtime franchise director Todd Howard as Bethesda celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Inside New Jersey's surprising Hollywood revival
New Jersey has rolled out the red carpet for filmmakers. The state is helping finance Netflix's construction of a $1-billion studio complex on an abandoned Army base near the Jersey Shore.
Furniture designer and artist Luigi Oldani moves studio to Napa
Furniture designer and artist Luigi Oldani embraces Napa at his new studio.
The Last Disney+ Original?
(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 going, I wanted to remind readers about how I plan to keep your trust while I add advertising to this newsletter. As you’ve no doubt noticed, I’m running ads now, but the danger is that it could impact my analysis and writing. I have a list of sponsors on my About Page, so if you think I’m biased, you can check out who’s sponsored this newsletter! This is something that I’m not sure anyone else in digital media does (if you’re a writer or media outlet and you do this, let me know and I’ll shout you out!) but it’s something I’d love to see embraced by the entire industry. Sunlight, i.e. transparency, is often the best disinfectant. Okay, on to this week’s issue. We (finally) have another major Disney+ TV show to talk about, so that’s my main focus for today. Plus, we had a lot of new shows come out, including the fourth seasons of The Diplomat and Tulsa King! And Love is Blind! The Lowdown! Also, four (four!) straight-to-streaming films came out this week, featuring a lot of big names and celebrities, so I’m going to look at those. All that, mixed news for the WNBA, Reacher ends its run on the charts, Skydance does well in September viewership, NYU’s Sundance dominance, 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 October 12th to October 18th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Disney+’s Porridge Problem Listen, per my headline, VisionQuest isn’t the last Disney+ Original. At least, I’m pretty sure it’s not. They have other MCU shows in development. Well, maybe one: But it sure feels like the end of an era. I’d call it their “porridge too hot” era, to quote myself from The Ringer. I told Ben Lindbergh that Disney+ seemingly couldn’t figure out the right amount of content. In the heights of the Streaming Bubble Era (circa 2019 to 2022), they started releasing an insane amount of TV shows. After their growth slowed, they’re down to two or three shows a year, and that might be down to 1 by 2027. Here’s my TV shows by year chart: Even at the time, I thought Disney was making too many shows (that cost too much). Today? They’re definitely making too few shows (though the budgets are more in check, at least according to the reporting). Porridge too hot, porridge too cold; too many shows, now not enough. Which makes evaluating VisionQuest so interesting. This show didn’t have a great lead-in, whether it be a Marvel Cinematic Universe film (the last non-Sony-produced-Spider-Man flick came out The Fantastic Four from July of 2025) or Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show (the two this year were Wonder Man back in January and _Daredevil: Born Again_in May, both of which underwhelmed). And so far, VisionQuest hasn’t quite recaptured the MCU Originals glory, but it has some signs of sparks. First, it made Samba TV, though at a lowly ninth place. At least it made it, a feat some other Marvel shows didn’t accomplish. (Ironheart landed on the Samba TV charts one week at tenth place, but Wonder Man and Daredevil: Born Again both missed.) VisionQuest also made Luminate, though with only 3.0 and 7.6 million hours. But it missed Nielsen in its first week. The best news might be its 7.8 on IMDb, on 12K reviews so far, great numbers, even for a superhero show. Looking at those numbers, this show will really need to pick up in future weeks—and it may since it’s coming out weekly—or Disney will have another disappointment on its hands. Disney+ binge-released their last few shows to try to boost numbers, but that meant shows like Iron Heart and Wonder Man didn’t last long on the charts. _Daredevil: Born Again’s_last season missed entirely (though it came out weekly). Here’s the Disney+ Originals by totals: And for a fun new look, here are those same shows, rearranged by the years they came out: That really shows that, in addition to Disney+ releasing fewer shows, those shows just don’t hit like they once did. If I had to offer one main explanation, it’s that Marvel Studios moved away from characters who starred in the Avengersmovies (The Scarlett Witch, Vision, Hawkeye, Loki, Falcon, Winter Soldier) to characters who didn’t (Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Iron Heart, Wonder Man, Daredevil). It sounds trite, but more popular IP tends to do better than less popular IP. In Marvel’s case, beloved, decades-old characters trump newer ones. And yes, I think this is a problem for Disney. The failure of Marvel TV shows to linger for weeks on the charts, unlike in 2021 and 2022, explains why Disney’s share of the charts has plummeted: That’s a strategic issue. Yes, these shows are really expensive, but without them, Disney+ will struggle, especially if Disney+ keeps raising prices AND licenses out its shows non-exclusively. My recommendation? Return to the core value proposition, which is Disney+ as “genre HBO”. The goal is six shows a year, coming out weekly, spaced out throughout the year. When a show hits, keep it coming back. Make three to four of those shows Marvel or Star Wars, and fill out the rest with IP swings like Percy Jackson, Goosebumps or something like National Treasure. And make YA-skewing shows like Coven Academy to fill out the schedule. Disney, you can get this porridge just right, er, make the right number of shows. Quick Notes on TV Netflix’s sophomore, er, junior, er, senior season slump abated very, very slightly this week. I speak of The Diplomat, which returned for its fourth season on 15-Oct. Credit where credit is due, this show debuted in April of 2023, and has put out new seasons every year since. Has that helped the viewership? Not really. This season opened to 16.4 million hours, which is down significantly from the first season (21.7 million hours) and down somewhat from the second season (18.0 million hours), but it is up from last year’s 14.2 million hours opening. On Samba TV, it opened to third place; that’s also very good. On Luminate, it opened to 25.0 million hours, which is good, but over thirty million hours is a hit on that platform. Netflix wisely renewed it, since it’s steady and, frankly, Netflix needs hits.1 Paramount+ put out Tulsa King’s fourth season on a Friday. After putting out most of their big, usually-Taylor Sheridan-scripted shows out on Sundays last year, they’ve clearly moved to Fridays going forward. Was this a thought-out strategic change, Netflix mimicry, or a data-inspired move? Tough to say. Fridays are crowded with new movies, but so are Sundays with new shows. Anyways, this one is coming out weekly, and we haven’t seen it hit the Nielsen or Luminate charts yet. But it did make Samba TV at fifth place, which is a good opening. Still, if this doesn’t make Luminate or Nielsen next week, I’d call it a disappointment. Netflix had two unscripted shows hit the charts this week, one a docu-series and one a reality competition show. Tyson is a four-episode docu-series about one of boxing’s most popular fighters, and it made both the Samba TV and Luminate charts, but not Nielsen. That’s a solid run for only four episodes (assuming it didn’t cost an arm and a leg to produce). Netflix’s latest season of Love Is Blind also returned for its eleventh season, which opened to 10.0 million hours, down from previous seasons. It also had 11.0 million hours according to Luminate, roughly in line with the Nielsen numbers. Last issue, I analyzed the triple successes of Below, Carrie and Crystal Lake, noting that all three have done well. I mostly used Nielsen, but all three shows also made Samba TV (see above). Crystal Lake in particular did very well on Luminate, getting 35.0 million hours, top for Peacock among first seasons: The top “show” of the week would have been Thursday Night Football again, at 41.7 million hours. This is still above last year’s game, but it continues the season’s overall downward trend, which happens every year. (Though a big week is coming, based on the news stories I’ve seen.) As I said before, I’ll do a deeper dive on all the October games later this month, with comparisons to previous years. One company is quietly on a roll, when you consider the shows it makes and streams. I speak of Skydance—a point Variety made—noting that it produces Neagley and Reacher for Amazon, along with Paramount+’s Lioness, which means it produced three of the top four shows of September according to Nielsen. By the way, Neagley fell off the Nielsen charts after four weeks, which is a pinch short for how well it started, but it’s still a huge success. (Interestingly, it finished just 7.3 million hours ahead of the cancelled Ride or Die.) The point, though, which I’ve made before, is that Prime Video still has a problem with how many co-productions it buys, most notably _The Boys_from Sony and Reacher/Jack Ryan from Skydance. It’s not a critical flaw—everyone licenses shows—but Amazon still struggles to make its own hits. Reacher finally fell off the Nielsen charts, so here’s its final rank for season four: 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… ...An example of the algorithm NOT picking a film… …whether or not Netflix buys shows simply for the movie poster… ...if East of Eden is above the Obliterated Line... ...what four star-studded straight-to-streaming films didn’t chart... ...and a whole lot 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.
Ubisoft Puts in a Bid for Dishonored Studio Arkane Lyon
Ubisoft has made an offer to buy Arkane Lyon, the French studio behind Dishonored, Deathloop and the upcoming Marvel's Blade, according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. At least two other gaming companies have put in offers of their own, though their names haven't come out yet. Apparently, Xbox is...
Ubisoft reportedly seeking to acquire Arkane Lyon from Xbox
Reports suggest Ubisoft is one of three companies looking to buy studio following extension of consultation period
This gen’s top 10 PlayStation Studios games
As we near the six-year anniversary of the PS5, we thought we’d dive into our estimates for the top-grossing PlayStation Studios games since the start of the gen. Together, the 10 games we’re covering today have generated over $6.5 billion across PlayStation (84.7%), Steam (14.1%), and Xbox (1.2% via just Helldivers 2). Let’s have a look at the top 10. Spidey and Kratos sequels take the top two spots God of War Ragnarok takes the top spot with $1.4B in revenue via 21.6M copies – 20.1M on PlayStation (75.2% via PS5) and the rest on Steam. Around 27.5% of the copies sold on PlayStation were physical. It’s another PlayStation evergreen seller, too. This year, Ragnarok has already sold 1.1M copies, generating $60M (68% on PlayStation), outperforming new 2026 titles like Gears of War E-Day and Saros. Overall, our estimates show that Ragnarok has been accessed by 6.7M PlayStation Plus players (it was added to the Extra tier about two years ago). So it’s performed that well this year despite subscription cannibalisation. That’s the pull of God of War IP. And that Bautista series on Amazon is going to be massive - bigger than Fallout, I reckon. Next up is Spider-Man 2 with $1.3B across PS5 (over $1.2B) and Steam (nearly $70M). Spider-Man 2 has sold over 19.1M copies overall, so it should pass 20M early next year. Spider-Man 2 is an evergreen title that always spikes around the holidays (mostly concentrated around Christmas week): In December 2023, it sold 2.1M copies, up 20% from November 2023 (the month after release) In December 2024, Spider-Man 2 sold 460K copies (natural decay), up 60% from November 2024. Despite the Steam version launching in January 2025, it still sold more copies – and made more revenue – the month before. In December 2025, it sold 328K copies, up 30% from November 2025. This year’s December and Christmas will be somewhat limited by Spidey’s February 2026 addition to PS+ Extra, where 6.3M people accessed it for the first time. While subscription inclusions always cannibalise premium revenues to some extent, Spider-Man 2 did manage to sell 578K copies in August 2026 – the most its sold since Q1 2024, following hype from the Spider-Man Brand New Day movie. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe God of War Ragnarok and Spider-Man 2 continue to be huge evergreen tentpoles for Sony. Together, both titles have sold 3.4M this year (2.3M for Spidey and 1.1M for Ragnarok), generating a combined $172.9M ($115.8M for Spidey and $57.1M for Ragnarok). Again, some premium games would take a leaf out of Kratos’ book (not Spidey’s!) and would kill for these numbers in year 1. And we can see why Sony wants to take a leaf from Steam’s book, killing physical to get higher margins from catalogue sales, ensuring they get their cut, and having more control over supply and demand (and pricing for their first-party titles). Hot rods, hellpods, and horizons Gran Turismo 7 takes #3 this generation with $841.9M in revenue via 12.7M copies sold. For more info on GT7, you can check out our write-up from earlier this week. Around 1.1M people have already played GT7 this month, less than six days in. Next up – at #4 – is the first second-party game on this list. Helldivers 2 has generated $786.3M via 23M copies sold across Steam (66.1% of the copies), PS5 (25.7%), and the 1.5-year-later Xbox port (8.3%). And there are plenty of players very dedicated to the Super Earth cause, as over 4M folks have played Helldivers 2 for over 100 hours, while 462K played for over 500 hours. That dedication to democracy is pretty topical… Anyway, Helldivers 2 still attracts about 700K players per day (more if there’s a significant update), and its August addition to PlayStation Plus Extra has led to 1.6M new players overall. This year, Helldivers 2 has sold over 2.5M copies, generating $81.1M in revenue. It’s another evergreen hit for Sony, and draws in engagement numbers similar to Arc Raiders. The Helldivers 2 model, in my opinion, should be the way PlayStation approaches its live-service and second-party releases. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Horizon Forbidden West rounds off the first half of the top 10, generating $485.8M. That said, PlayStation completely stifled Horizon Forbidden West’s revenue by adding it to PlayStation Plus way too early (one year after launch). You can see the revenue drop-off clearly in our platform: As you can see: Forbidden West was still a healthy catalogue earner right before it was added to PS+ Extra, making about $1.23M a week on PlayStation across late 2022 and into January 2023. After it was added to Extra_, Forbidden West_’s weekly revenue halved to around $610K, basically overnight. Excluding launch month, Horizon Forbidden West generated about $67.2M on PlayStation in the period before the PS Plus addition. In the same period after it joined the service, that fell to $28.1M, a 58% drop. So, PlayStation didn’t trade a little bit of premium revenue for subscriber value here. It gave up well over half of it, and it cut momentum instantly for one of its premier franchises. Could you imagine the kind of cannibalisation if it launched day in date on Extra? Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe And the cannibalisation wasn’t a temporary blip that bounced back once the game left the service in September 2024. By then, 19 months on PS Plus had already hoovered up most of the install base that would have bought it, so there was barely a premium audience left to monetise. PlayStation even added it back to PS Plus on October 21 this year, and sure enough, weekly revenue dropped again (by around a third); though, the numbers are small now that Forbidden West is nearly four years old. Worth the trade-off. The usual suspects, platformers, and an Asia-driven second-party hit As for the rest of the list: Ghost of Yotei has now generated $410.1M via 5.5M copies on PS5. Yotei popped off a bit a few weeks ago due to a content update, which we covered here. The Last of Part Us I, a remake that we covered here, has generated $341.3M in revenue (67.2% via PlayStation) via 6.4M copies. It was also added to PS+ Extra about two years after launch, where 7.8M people accessed it for the first time. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart has made $334.9M (93.6% via PlayStation 5). It’s now passed 5M copies sold overall. It’s sold 250K copies this year, generating $13.5M in revenue. Time for another Ratchet? Stellar Blade has generated $316.9M via PS5 (59.7%) and Steam (40.3%). However, the share of Stellar Blade’s 5.4M copies sold is far closer (50.4% on PlayStation, 49.6% on Steam) – despite the Steam version releasing a year later. China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong account for 48% of Steam copies and 35% of PlayStation copies (about 41% overall). These markets are regionally priced lower than others, hence the difference. Astro Bot rounds out the top 10 with $292.6M in revenue via over 4.7M copies sold. We covered Astro’s recent performance here, covering how Astro Bot is another evergreen seller and has been a hit with families. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Even these bottom five games have generated a combined $281.7M this year in catalogue sales. PlayStation wants those numbers to be bigger in the coming years, which is one of the reasons it’s killing the disc (alongside the better margins it and publishers get through digital). No more used discs means more D2C revenue for PlayStation. On that note, we recently chatted to the New York Times again about PlayStation’s digital future, so keep your eyes peeled for that! 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. Want to see why these companies (and many others) are subscribed to Alinea? Get a free platform trial! [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!]
Matt Damon and David Letterman make blink-and-you-miss-it cameo on “The Gilded Age” season 4 premiere
The Hollywood heavyweights went through a lot of back-and-forth with studios to make it happen.
Utopai Names Former Disney AI Leader Hans Ku as Chief Product Officer
Utopai Studios, the AI-focused entertainment studio, has hired former Disney AI leader Hans Ku as its chief product officer
Thief: The Dark Project Remastered launches December 3
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Can Hollywood Rediscover the Power of Wholesome Entertainment?
Jeremy Latcham, who is slated to become president and chief creative officer of DC Studios next month, wants to make content for the faith and family audience.
Early Black Friday Deals Kickoff With Steep Discounts on Apple Watch Ultras and More
Black Friday deals officially kicked off this week, with early savings on everything from Apple Watch Ultra models to Mac mini, Mac Studio, HomeView pre-orders, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Everything You Need To Know About Entertainment at Disney's Jollywood ...
Don't miss all the entertainment at this year's Jollywood Nights at Hollywood Studios!
BioWare Lives On: Here Are All The Post-BioWare Projects Currently In Production
BioWare may be gone, but its legacy continues through studios, projects, and games created by former employees.
Former Staff Says Rockstar Should Worry About AI GTA 6 Clones
Grand Theft Auto III technical director Obbe Vermeij says the studio prefers a console-first approach than having to compromise a PC build, but overnight AI copycats could change all that
Fox Entertainment Studios Signs First-Look Deal With Lisa Hamilton Daly and Alysia Cotter Thomas’ Cottage Industry Entertainment
Fox Entertainment Studios has sealed a first-look development and producing deal with Cottage Industry Entertainment, the shingle launched by executives Lisa Hamilton Daly and Alysia Cotter Thomas. Am...
Best Early Black Friday Mac Deals: Save Hundreds on MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and More
We're getting closer to Black Friday, which lands on Friday, November 27 this year. In the lead-up to the shopping holiday, we're tracking a few lowest-ever prices on Apple's most popular Macs, including the M5 MacBook Air, MacBook Neo, and the new Mac mini and Mac Studio. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Affinity’s creative studio is now available on iPad for free
The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts.
Resident Evil Requiem wins four Golden Joystick Awards, including Ultimate and Console GOTY
Capcom receives seven awards in total, including Studio of the Year
Who Is Jeremy Latcham? Christian Marvel Veteran Takes Over DC Studios
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Lupita Nyong'o Wears Custom GapStudio Designed by Zac Posen at CFDA Awards
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Fox Entertainment Studios Signs First-Look Deal With Cottage Industry
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Former South Carolina governors of different political parties discuss bipartisan politics
Judi Gatson introduces David Beasley and Jim Hodges to the studio.
Angel Studios Allows Employees to Argue Over Politics and Religion, but Only Face to Face | Tomi Lahren is Fearless
It's an interesting strategy....
Hollywood studio to lay off dozens as filmmakers continue LA exodus
Hollywood continues to reel from job cuts as a popular Los Angeles area post-production studio announced a plan to ax more than 80 workers.
Bandai Namco to shut down Canada-based game studio Reflector Entertainment, developer of Unknown 9
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Medicare Advantage Annual Enrollment Period with Select Health
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Fitness studio Swoot with nightclub-inspired classes to open second location Uptown
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Phantom Blade Zero made $223M on Steam and PS5 in five days
Phantom Blade Zero was always going to be a hit. We’ve been banging on about it for months now. Well, the results are in, and Phantom Blade Zero has indeed been a hit. Yesterday, S-Game reported that Phantom Blade Zero has sold 4M copies. As of this morning, our estimates show that Phantom Blade Zero has generated $223M via 4.3M copies sold across Steam (3.1M) and PlayStation (1.2M). This instantly makes Phantom Blade Zero this year’s #10 new 2026 game by premium revenue across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation – and without an Xbox release to boot. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Combined, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong account for 55% of Phantom Blade Zero’s copies sold – 56% of copies on Steam and 50% on PlayStation. But revenue is slightly different. Phantom Blade Zero actually made more revenue outside of China However, due to regional pricing, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong account for a lower share of revenue, 45%. The three countries account for 40% of Phantom Blade Zero’s revenue on PlayStation, and 47% on Steam. This is due to regional pricing, which you can easily check in our platform: Using the $59.99 USD base price as a starting point, we can see that Phantom Blade Zero costs the equivalent of $40.31 in China (-32.8% of the US price) and $41.80 in Hong Kong (-30.3%). So while Chinese culture is at the heart of Phantom Blade Zero (in terms of theme and player base), it’s actually making more money in non-China markets. In fact, markets outside of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan account for $123M in Phantom Blade Zero revenues via 2M copies. Even when we remove revenues from these markets from the analysis, Phantom Blade Zero remains a top 20 new 2026 title by revenue across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe In other words, Phantom Blade Zero is a global hit. It’s not all China – or even majority China, when it comes to revenues. The China spring board helped, but a successful State of Play and – more importantly – positive reviews helped this one land in other markets. Quality sells. China was hyped from the start, but Western players needed more convincing As we wrote back in August, China was always going to show up early for Phantom Blade Zero. Our daily Steam revenue data shows just that, and we can see when S-Game’s banging RPG won over players outside of China: On the day Phantom Blade Zero’s Steam pre-order button went live in mid-August, China accounted for nearly 70% of Phantom Blade Zero’s Steam revenue. The shares hovered around 68% throughout August. This is the hometown-hero effect we’ve covered in the past, with the home market committing first – almost sight unseen – on national pride and a lush-looking trailer alone. Then things get even more interesting. Following the State of Play on August 18, US daily revenue more than doubled (from $72K to $146K), China’s daily take nearly quadrupled ($237K to $892K), and the rest of the world’s revenues also more than doubled. As China spiked so much harder than the others, its share of revenue hardly moved, holding at around 68%. So the by-all-counts-awesome State of Play got non-China markets and the West interested (you can see daily spend jump), but it didn’t move the needle for overall revenue shares. Positive reviews were the Western tipping point. US daily revenue went from $106K on October 25 to $230K when the embargo lifted on the 26th, to $463K on the 27th, to $899K on the 28th. So nearly 8.5x more revenue in four days, boosted by the positive reviews and subsequent word of mouth. When Phantom Blade Zero launched on the 29th, things hit critical mass. On launch day, the US and the rest of the world combined out-earned China for the first time in Phantom Blade Zero’s whole pre-order history. You can see this unfolding pretty nicely in the revenue shifting shares, too. China’s lifetime revenue share sat at 68% in August and was still 65% as late as October 25th, but it dropped to 45% by November 2. Over that same period, the US nearly doubled its share from 10% to 18%, and the rest of the world climbed from 25% to 38%. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe That’s not to say that China sold less – far from it. The West and non-China markets just showed up later, won over by the reviews and word of mouth. However you look at it, Phantom Blade Zero has become one of this year’s highest-grossing premium games. Daily volume seems to be decelerating a bit (which is natural), so subscribe below for more updates on performance. Speaking of performance and deceleration… Gran Turismo 7 is one of PlayStation’s biggest earners While games like Ghost of Yotei, Helldivers 2, Astro Bot, Wolverine (2.7M now, by the way), and even Marathon and Saros tend to get all the headlines (we hold our hand up there, too!), there’s one PlayStation game from the past five years that’s earned more than all of these games: and it’s one that’s rarely talked about in enthusiast circles. Gran Turismo 7, which launched in March 2022, has sold 12.7M copies. This amounts to $840M in revenue, second only to Spider-Man 2’s $1.3B – if we’re talking PlayStation first-party for this generation. Gran Turismo 7 still brings in around 3M players every month (and between 400K and 700K active players per day). It’s also an evergreen seller every year. For example, Gran Turismo 7 generated: $189.7M in 2023 via 2.9M copies $161.3M in 2024 via 2.7M copies $119.1M in 2025 via 1.7M copies This year, Gran Turismo 7 has already sold 1.3M copies, generating $74.7M And there’s more laps to come Every December is comfortably GT7’s biggest month of the year (except launch), and the gap is widening there. December generated 2.1x a normal month in 2023, and by 2025 that had grown to 2.8x. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe As the typical months cool off with age, Christmas always holds strong, so the holiday period is becoming a bigger slice of Gran Turismo 7 yearly revenue. For Gran Turismo 7, the week around Christmas does 3x to 5x a typical week – three years running: Christmas week 2023: $14.7M (4.6x the year’s median week) Christmas week 2024: $9.3M (3.3x) Christmas week 2025: $8.5M (4.6x) These Christmas peaks happened at the full $59.99 (Gran Turismo 7 wasn’t discounted at all in December 2023 or December 2025). And although there was a discount late in December 2024, GT7’s peak week that year still happened at full price. You can really see why PlayStation hasn’t added this one to PlayStation Plus, eh? Say it after me: Subscriptions cannibalise premium revenue! On that note… Let’s take a quick look at how Gran Turismo 7 is doing versus its nearest competitor, Xbox console exclusive and long-running sim racer Forza Motorsport (released in 2023 as a reboot for the franchise, about 19 months after GT7). Forza Motorsport has sold around 1.3M copies across Xbox (75.4% for Xbox console and PC) and Steam (24.6%), grossing $89.9M across those platforms. Launch aligned, and on just PlayStation, Gran Turismo 7 had sold 10.2M copies, generating $676.1M, by that point. In other words, Gran Turismo 7 has sold the same number of copies this year as Forza Motorsport has sold since launch. When all is said and done, Gran Turismo 7’s 2026 revenues will have lapped Motorsport’s lifetime, too. It’s worth noting that Forza Motorsport was not released on last-gen consoles, and under a quarter of Gran Turismo 7’s revenue has come from PS4 consoles. Critically, Forza Motorsport is also on Game Pass, where nearly 7M players have accessed it. Meanwhile, the Forza Horizon series has been performing incredibly in terms of revenue. This year’s Forza Horizon 6 has generated $583.7M across Xbox and Steam despite Game Pass cannibalisation, and last year’s Forza Horizon 5 PlayStation port has generated $383.5M on PS5 alone. So two questions, then: How well is Forza Horizon 6 going to do when it launches on PS5 in January? Hit subscribe to get that in your inbox in January (which is in two months somehow!?) Subscribe 2. Open-world arcade Gran Turismo when? Also, if you like arcade racers, go and play Star Wars Galactic Racer. It rules. Like GOTY material, seriously. 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!]
Canadian BioWare fans are calling on the government to fund the studio
BioWare fans have launched a petition in Canada…
Cineverse Nominates Dr. Samrat Ganguly for Election to Board of Directors
/PRNewswire/ -- Cineverse Corp. (Nasdaq: CNVS) ("Cineverse" or the "Company"), an entertainment technology company and studio, announced the nomination for...
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Utopai Studios Names Former Disney AI Leader Hans Ku as Chief Product Officer
Utopai Studios, the AI-focused entertainment studio, has hired former Disney AI leader Hans Ku as its chief product officer, tapping a Hollywood studio veteran as the company tries to grow its content...
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New research shows diet is an essential way to boost brain health, but which foods are the most effective? TODAY nutrition and health expert Joy Bauer stops by Studio 1A to share the best foods to improve cognitive health, mental resilience and memory function — and some of them may surprise you.
DC Studios Boss James Gunn Out After Rocky Reign As Comic Movie Exec
The shakeup comes in the wake of Skydance’s mega-merger with Paramount.
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Developers, Creators, And Fans Remember BioWare: ‘I’ve Been Trying To Replicate That Feeling For Almost My Whole Life’
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With 'The Greatest,' Authentic Studios makes another IP play in Hollywood
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How Tim Moore Built Vū Technologies Into a Global Virtual Production Business
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Whoa, I Missed It! Disney Starts Licensing the Household Silver, When IP Backfires, and More Big Content Moves
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Over these last few months, the entertainment business story landscape revolved around Skydance (and their merger) and Netflix (and their leadership shakeup). I don’t even want to scan my archives to see how many times I wrote about just those two companies over the last six months or so, let alone how many times they demanded their own article. Oh, how I long for June, when I could avoid them and write about other mergers and acquisitions (Comcast and NBCUniversal; Fox buying Roku). Well, not really, but you know what I mean. That focus on just two companies meant I ignored a lot of fun and, more importantly, important stories. So, it’s also time for another “Whoa, I Missed It” article. These are stories I wish I had written about, but aren’t exactly current events anymore. And there are a lot of them! Fifteen stories in all, including a very important merger that I didn’t write about, my word of warning about the IP deluge, how “genre” TV is making a big comeback, Netflix’s latest smart acquisition (and a licensing divorce), Disney and HBO’s recent TV show buys (and what they say about reboots on TV), a big cable merger, Amazon’s new bundle, social media censorship, and a lot more. Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - Buy, Sell or Hold the Latest Content Development and Licensing in 2026!!! Content is king. I’ve written that before, and I believe in it now more than ever. If I had to quantify it, and I have, I put it at about 50% of the fate of any given media company, be they streamer, network, bundler, studio or social platform. This is a hits-driven business, and, as I like to do about every so often, it’s time to check in on the latest content moves. These content shifts on their own aren’t usually enough to be the “most important story” of a week, but if you add them up, you can see the content landscape shifting. The stories also fell into two natural buckets: licensing deals and IP moves. Plus, I’ll offer my “buy, sell or hold” rating for whether I think the deal is smart for a given side. Let’s dive right in. Disney Starts Licensing the Household Silver Disney is starting to license their core brands to Netflix. Quietly, over the last couple of years, Disney had rented some 20th Century [Fox] shows and films to Netflix, but until now, the core brands had escaped that fate. Now? At least some Pixar films will make it to Disney (including Elio) and some Disney+ Originals (like Percy Jackson and the Olympians). Here’s my rating for each company: Disney: Sell. One is tempted to say Disney has started licensing the “crown jewels”, but I don’t think we see that yet. I’d call this the “family silver” instead, which isn’t quite as valuable. That said, Disney’s new CEO clearly is focused on shoring up the company’s profitability, and that means licensing deals, even at the expense of Disney+ exclusivity. This could also help bring eyeballs to Percy Jackson for the upcoming season, a similar benefit to “dual casting” this show, which I also think Disney should do. Still, in the long run, I’d protect the core brands more. Netflix: Buy. This is a smart move, assuming the price is right, and I’d bet it is. (Netflix’s content licensing teams are some of the best in the industry.) Of course, this is another data point that Netflix is moving away from making their own films and relying on licensing instead. That has downsides—they’ll always end up renting—but if you’re buying Disney content, that’s a good move. Prime Video Buys More Live Events Amazon’s Prime Video/MGM Studios keeps purchasing live events, including the Emmys (which I wrote about here) and some regional sporting rights. These bolster their NFL, NBA and Academy of Country Music Awards licensing deals. My theory here is that Prime Video knows that they can sell the advertising for more on live events than on their massive acquired/original inventory of shows and films. (As I’ve been showing with Reelgood’s data, they have a LOT more shows and films than other streamers.) Advertisers want live, engaged viewers, since they’re a lot more likely to be real. Prime Video: Hold. I like Amazon’s focus on live events, but it remains tough to evaluate this company, er, business unit, since we don’t know anything about their financials. Yes, Amazon’s CEO recently released a very carefully worded statement about Prime Video, claiming profitability, but we don’t know by how much by when. (It’s also not audited by third parties, so we have to take it with another grain of salt.) Plus, given that Amazon increased the price of the Emmys by about a third, they also likely overpaid. (Maybe that’s why they’re barely profitable, allegedly.) But also, I think they know they need to dominate live TV, and that’s a smart strategy! So I’m torn, but lean towards calling this a smart move. The Emmys: Definitely sell! I mentioned this in my “Streaming Bonus Content” article, but I really, really, really, really do NOT like this move for the Emmys. Chasing short term dollars over long term awareness is not a smart move. To reach the widest audience, the “dual-cast” format—meaning broadcast and streaming—just reaches more people. Skydance Takes Its Animation Back This is the story that made me want to write a “let’s catch up on content” column in the first place. Specifically, Skydance and Netflix have ended their animated film output deal. It’s not huge, since really, what film has Skydance Animation made that’s broken out? But strategically, it shows you how Skydance is positioning their company. Skydance Animation: Hold. Again, I still need to see Skydance Animation put out a hit or two before I can judge this as a smart move. The other worry for Skydance is they have a lot of overlapping animation houses now, and that’s going to end at some point. Still, if John Lasseter can regain his animation mojo—and his track record has been mixed at Skydance, ignoring his other issues—this could be a powerful point for Paramount. Netflix: Hold (put your films in theaters). Right now, with the Dan Lin upheaval and Peter Rice coming in, we don’t really know what Netflix’s plans for theaters versus straight-to-streaming films are. So I need to see what new films (if any) they buy/rent/produce to replace the Skydance flicks, but it will probably be a smarter investment of capital, since the straight-to-streaming films have just failed to break out, outside of one major example. Theaters: Buy! They do look like they’re gonna end up with more inventory based on the Skydance move, and now Netflix putting four to five films in theaters per year. For example, Netflix confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters 2 will come to theaters, and that’s going to be a smash. Disney+’s Reboot Future So those were the major licensing news stories, and now we get to the IP-related updates. Obviously, I’m generally pro-IP in content development. But that’s not some iron law; not all IP hits equally. Get ready for Entertainment Nuance Guy. And let’s start with a big worry. Scanning the news stories, Disney has three reboots on their lineup between ABC, Hulu and Disney+: Coach (on ABC), The X-Files and Glee. So are reboots as immune to failure as IP? 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… Why I’m skeptical about some upcoming genre and IP plays… How Skydance’s merger closing unlocked Paramount and HBO… The focus on “genre” across the streamers and studios… Some big creators leave Netflix… Netflix’s horror TV show licensing play (and what they should have done instead)… A huge merger that I didn’t write about... Whether or not we’ll see a major film tax credit… Amazon’s new megabundle of streamers… And (somehow) more… ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support.
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