DUMBLEDORE plummets as BAD GUYS overperforms at box office

SHOWTIME fires AMERICAN GIGOLO showrunner / STRANGER THINGS $30 Mil an ep pricetag / Hardcore earnings week ahead

Sean McNulty

Apr 25

Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on MONDAY April 25, 2022.

Where I saw 2 things this weekend on… different sides of the quality spectrum:

APPLE TV+’s 4 hour ~~infomercial~~ docuseries for Magic Johnson “They Call Me Magic”. Anyone expecting something remotely near a Jordan-esque “Last Dance” quality, insight or storytelling wise - don’t bother (tho it was a surprise to see Mike Ovitz appear as a contributing interview in the final episode).
- This “Magic” docu plus Tom Brady’s #fail of a “Man in the Arena” docuseries lends a lot of weight to the doctrine that the less an athlete is involved in “producing” the docu about their career - the better.
I went back to BROADWAY! No no, not on stage - but thanks for asking. Rather I went to see “Hangmen” which is really fantastic 👏. High recommend if you’re in the city before mid June.

AND: It’s CINEMACON time in Vegas this week 📽 so expect some movie theater biz huzzah! items in the news ether and a lot of mentions of footage shown from Summer pics that “played great!” 🤩 That is if those items can find room between the barrage of Q1 user and subscriber updates. “Top Gun: Maverick” is also rumored to be screening there. 👨‍✈️

📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

BOX OFFICE

“The Bad Guys” : $24 Million ($87 Million global)
- Solid opening… although some Hollywood pundits were somehow still gobsmacked that people like to go out to movies with their kids vs streaming something at home… despite repeated ample evidence over, well the entire pandemic.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” : $15 Million ($146 Million US, $288 Million global)
- 48% drop from last weekend
“Fantastic Beasts… Dumbledore” : $14 Million ($67 Million US, $280 Million global)
- Bad 67% drop from opening weekend… but international will save WB on this $200 Million pic.
“The Northman” : $12 Million ($23 Million global)
- Pic had a $70+ Million budget, split between FOCUS and NEW REGENCY so… yeah this one has a way to go.
“Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” : $7 Million
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” : $5.4 Million ($27 Million US)
- Very slight 11% drop - word of mouth on this one is tremendous.

ELSEWHERE AT THE BOX OFFICE

“Father Stu” had an OK 40% drop from last weekend ($3.3 Million), but at just $13.4 Million total - gonna be some red ink on this one, either at SONY… or more likely for Wahlberg himself who was the biggest financier on the pic.

ALSO IN MOVIES

SAUDI ARABIA bans new “Doctor Strange” movie because it has a gay character. /THR
STX sale to The NAJAFI COMPANIES is complete. /THR

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JUST 4 THINGS

“Stranger Things” Season 4 reportedly cost… $30 Million an episode according to the WSJ. Yikes. Even the new GOT series “House of the Dragon” reportedly came in around just $20 Million an episode according to VARIETY.
SHOWTIME boots upcoming “American Gigolo” series showrunner David Hollander for alleged misconduct, but no further details avail. He’s had a long run at the network, working on “Ray Donovan” for many years. /Deadline
NETFLIX employees who have NFLX share options are looking to get another round at a reduced price, given the huge stock drop. /TheInformation
- Ted Sarandos always choosing to take half of his compensation in cash (equating to about $20 Million each year) now has a different perspecive on it too…
EPIX renews “From” for a Season 2. /Deadline

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

NBCU CEO Jeff Shell made about 30% more in 2021, at $21.6 Million (boost was mostly in his bonus)

His boss, COMCAST CEO Brian Roberts pocketed $34 Million, which is about on par for the last few years.

COMCAST stock ended 2021 pretty much exactly where it started.

Also the updated PEACOCK numbers come out on Thurs. /THR

ALSO IN MEDIA

The NFL is stealing Christmas from the NBA this year - planning a triple-header since the holiday falls on a Sunday this December. Will go head to head with the NBA’s usual 5 game lineup. In the past, the NFL moved most of their games to Christmas Eve or the Monday after. /Deadline

🏦 STOCK NOTES:

A slightly down day for most (1-4%) but no big movers.

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👩‍💻 NEW TO WATCH:

HBO “We Own This City” limited series premieres at 9p, followed by “Gentleman Jack” at 10p

And… one from Friday I missed: NETFLIX “Heartstopper” - UK LGBTQ+ teen love series based on a web comic. STREAM HERE

🕵️‍♀️ THE (earnings) WEEK AHEAD

TUE - WARNER DISCO earnings call in the morning, GOOGLE (YOUTUBE) earnings after the bell

WED - SPOTIFY subscriber updates in the AM, FACEBOOK user updates in the late afternoon

THU - PEACOCK, TWITTER user updates in the morning, ROKU, AMAZON, APPLE updates in the late afternoon. Oh and the NFL DRAFT starts. Plus “The Offer” drops on PARAMOUNT+. I’m already tired just typing this.

FRI - This newsletter is going to be long. No major theatrical releases.

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

AMAZON PRIME “Night Sky” series trailer - JK Simmons and Sissy Spacek co-star as a couple with a portal to the universe buried in the shed in their backyard (it’s right next to the leafblower - you can’t miss it), when suddenly someone appears who’s traveled through from somewhere else. Premieres Fri May 20.