| STREAMING GIANT LOOKS TO HEAD OFF PARAMOUNT'S HOSTILE BID |
Netflix has switched its acquisition agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to an all-cash deal. The new offer remains at $27.75 per share, but it removes the previous $4.50 a share in Netflix stock element, which was part of the earthshaking pact revealed last December. Netflix shares have slid more than 25% since word of the deal first emerged last fall. Discovery Global, the parent of cable networks CNN, TNT, Food Network and many others, is not part of Netflix’s proposal. Prior to the M&A action, WBD had said it intends to split into two companies this year. Under the Netflix plan, the split would still happen within the next six to nine months, prior to Netflix taking over the studios-and-streaming side of the media giant.
Paramount is continuing to pursue a hostile $30-per-share bid for all of WBD. It is also suing WBD in a Delaware court, hoping to force more disclosures of data that it wants to convey to shareholders. >>>"Enhanced Certainty"
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CNN On Pace For $1.8B In 2026 Revenue, Warner Bros. Discovery Reveals |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
'Avatar' Reigns At B.O. - James Cameron’s Na’vi sent Sony’s Infected running from the top spot at the box office as 20th Century Studios’ Avatar: Fire and Ash pulled in $17.2M over its four-day fifth weekend. 28 Days Years Later: The Bone Temple, meanwhile, came in below its $20M+ tracking projections. >>>Sole MLK Weekend Opener
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‘LOTR’ Trilogy 25th Anniversary Event Rings Up $11M At Global B.O.
Berlin Lineup Revealed - >>>Worldly Fare
Busfield Cut From Rom-Com - A role played by Timothy Busfield in the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios rom-com You Deserve Each Other has been edited out in the wake of sex abuse charges filed against the actor, sources confirmed to Deadline. >>>Hearing Today The Fifth Beatle Gets His Due - Deadline has an exclusive look at the first U.S. trailer for music doc-biopic Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It, which Abramorama is releasing stateside on February 20. It charts the story of legendary keyboardist and Grammy winner Preston, who played with The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Little Richard and many others. >>> Watch It
Big Cat - Anti-war film Der Tiger (The Tank) has become the most-streamed original German movie on Prime Video. The pic follows a five-man crew of a Nazi Tiger tank that's sent on a secret mission far behind the contested front line. >>>Top Spot In 28 Countries |
The opening scene of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms immediately reveals this is a Westeros not seen before on screen, says the HBO series’ showrunner, Ira Parker.
In an interview with Deadline, Parker said his series acts as a “natural on-ramp for anyone who did not come to Game of Thrones the first time around, who was scared off by violence and brutality.” >>>The Interview
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‘A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms’ Stars Peter Claffey And Dexter Sol Ansell On Dunk & Egg’s Odd Couple Friendship |
QUOTABLE "AI-generated crap" - Billy Bob Thornton on online chatter that he is dating 'Landman' co-star Demi Moore |
BY THE NUMBERS $1.7B - Worldwide B.O. for 'Zootopia 2' |
MORE NEWS
🎥 The Berlin Film Festival unveiled a wide-ranging 22-title competition lineup, mixing new films from critically acclaimed directors with a smattering of titles featuring big-name stars. Projects include Kornél Mundruczó’s At The Sea, starring Amy Adams, and Rosebrush Pruning, starring Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Jamie Bell, Elle Fanning and Pamela Anderson.
📺 A 60 Minutes segment on CECOT prison, the infamous El Salvadoran facility where the Trump administration sent deportees last year, aired on Sunday, four weeks after it was pulled by CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss for not being ready. The segment itself appeared identical to a version that leaked on social media shortly after it was pulled.
🏈 Green Day is set to kick off Super Bowl LX with an opening ceremony performance that will celebrate six decades of the NFL event. The four-time Grammy-winning group will honor and usher generations of Super Bowl MVPs onto the field, per an NFL announcement.
🏆 Daniel Day-Lewis and Jessie Buckley have landed nominations at the Irish Film & Television Awards, with Brendan Canty’s Cork-set drama Christy heading up the film noms with 14. |
OBITUARIES 🕯️ Legendary Italian fashion designer Valentino has died at the age of 93, his foundation announced on Monday. The foundation said the designer, whose full name was Valentino Garavani, died in his home in Rome on January 19. 🕯️ Roger Allers, the Disney Animation filmmaker known for The Lion King, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and more, has died. He was 76. 🕯️ 2026 Deaths Photo Gallery |
ON THE RADAR
Tue - Netflix Q4 earnings; Bernie Sanders on Colbert
Wed - The Beauty series premiere
Thu - Oscar nominations announced; Sundance begins; TikTok deal closes
Sat - Teyana Taylor hosts SNL
Sun - NFL Conference Championship games |
Over The Line - Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza dives across the goal line during Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game against the Miami Hurricanes. The Hoosiers won, 27-21, to claim their first national title in school history. |
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