There’s been many shifts in the entertainment landscape over the last few years. Perhaps one of the most concerning is the proliferation of new states and even countries fighting to secure themselves a share of the production pie through juicy incentives. With many projects across both film and TV opting for alternatives to LA as their production hub, is it time for an image renovation? Our local entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake from Blake & Wang P.A., examines why entertainment’s most iconic destination may need to fight a little harder to lower local shooting costs and reinvent itself as a production location.

Brandon Blake

World Class People, World Class Problems

While almost anyone in the industry will agree that LA offers some of the world’s best crews and cast, shooting in LA is not exactly simple. From permitting locations and fees to the price of doing business locally, the simple facts are that it’s gotten harder to film in Los Angeles— and more importantly, a whole lot easier (and cheaper) to film elsewhere. Trading on reputation alone is no longer enough when capable film hubs are easy to find.

Of course, these shifts are not new to the industry. However, it may be time for a facelift if LA wants to retain its reputation as the go-to filming hub.

Solving LA’s Filming Issues

It’s easy to judge from the sidelines. However, for most producers, a notable lack of stimulation for the film industry in LA remains a crucial issue, especially the lack of a standard permitting protocol and steep fees. Ironically, the state is no longer as film-friendly as other alternatives. Tax breaks and rebates now lag behind those offered in many other destinations. While hardly an LA-only issue, there is also a pressing need to bring entertainment industry inflation in line with overall inflation as well as the wider economic market.

As always, supply and demand are key to success. In a world where the supply of compelling filming destinations has expanded vastly, industry stalwarts may need to revisit the tried-and-tested strategies of yesteryear and ensure they’re still offering competitive services and incentives, not simply relying on past reputations to keep them moving to the future. It’s a lesson LA hopefully won’t have to learn the hard way — but only if stakeholders take note now and not when it’s too late.

As Disney+ looks to solidify its share of the live continuous programming market, four new channels for live shows will be added to its roster, joining the two they launched back in August this year. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney Los Angeles, Brandon Blake, unpacks what we know so far.

Brandon Blake

Targeting the FAST Market

This will bring Disney+’s live continuous programming channels up to six. While Disney itself was keen to avoid mentioning the FAST, or Free Ad-Supported TV, model, FAST programming has been something of a growth area recently. Now a billion-dollar market segment, the FAST space is booming.

Naturally, these aren’t exactly FAST channels, as they’re only on offer to Disney+ subscribers, but it is clear they are hoping to net some of that magic for themselves. Subscription streaming platforms have been reticent to embrace the FAST term, concerned about giving the wrong message to their paying clients.

For now, these new channels will only be offered to domestic subscribers and will be onboarded ahead of the anticipated subscription price hike in mid-October.

Success So Far

The two currently live always-on channels in the Disney+ stable, ABC News and Playtime, have already netted over 10M hours of viewing since they launched in late August 2024. Disney also noted that they have seen greater engagement from the subscribers consuming them. The overall Disney+ subscriber totals, including global customers but excluding Hotstar, sit at close to 120M subscribers. Last quarter, they finally turned a profit for the first time, ahead of their previous 2025 deadline.

The new channels will offer aptly timed seasonal-themed content, no doubt hoping to take advantage of the upcoming festive season. Hallowstream will focus on Halloween content specifically, and Throwbacks offers a nostalgic pop-cult content bouquet. Real Life will deliver documentaries, true stories, and biopic content, and Hits & Heroes will offer action content from their marquee brands.

It’s interesting to see Disney dip its toes in the FAST channel model, especially behind a general subscription paywall like this. Will other streamers hurry to emulate them? That remains to be seen.

Paid sharing is in, it seems. With Netflix having notoriously withdrawn its free sharing options for subscribers in what’s become known as their “password-sharing crackdown”, we are now seeing Disney+ following suit. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake, has more.

Brandon Blake

Paid Sharing Across Key Territories

While Disney+’s new move is, essentially, the same as Netflix — subscribers will no longer be able to share access to their account with individuals outside the primary household — it’s being branded as a new feature across the Disney ecosystem. Paid sharing, or the ability to be added as an extra “member” on a subscription plan, will be rolled out in the US and Costa Rica, Canada, Europe, Guatemala, and their Asia-Pacific territories. This expands on a program we saw launched last summer.

Additional Costs

This additional subscription is currently set at $6.99 for Disney+ basic, and will be $9.99 per month for those looking for the premium ad-free experience. Additionally, only one extra member can be added per account, and it will not be on offer to those with Disney bundles or who access the service through partners; it will only be for accounts billed from Disney directly. On the plus side, if the added member chooses to go solo down the line, they can transfer everything from their profile, including settings and watch history.

They have also set up a feature for supported devices to be used outside of the household, under an “away from home” function, and made provision to transfer accounts should the account holder move. Both will require a specific one-time passcode to enact.

Overall, however, the deal fails to match up to Netflix’s own forays in the area, costing 87% of the cost of another account (on basic). However, those prices are likely set with the upcoming subscription hike anticipated for Disney, which would bring it down to 70% of the cost of a new account. Doubtless, they hope to encourage users to take up their own plans, especially the bundle options, which have been noted to have considerably less churn.

Building on its promise to expand its in-theater offerings over the next 3 years vastly, Amazon Prime Video and its Amazon MGM Studios arm are now officially the seventh member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Entertainment lawyer Los Angeles from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, covers this exciting announcement.

Brandon Blake

First Since 2019

This makes them the first new inclusion in the MPA ranks since Netflix in 2019. Their membership will formally begin on Oct 1 this year. As two of the key “tech giants turned streamers” of recent years, both Amazon and Apple have had question marks hanging over their heads about their real commitment to theatrical releases, both internally and externally.

While the MPA does have a significant interest in boosting theatrical exhibitions, it plays a more neutral role than organizations such as the National Association of Theater Owners. It has significantly broadened its interest in TV and streaming work since Netflix was onboarded in 2019. With Amazon MGM having pushed nine films into theaters this year, however, it is now ahead of traditional MPA stalwarts like Paramount, which has only released six.

A Return for MGM

Not that Amazon has been wholly separate from the MPA to date. Not only has the company itself had a leading role in the MPA’s Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, mostly working on piracy concerns, but MGM was a member from 1928 through to 2005. Amazon has owned the company since 2022.

This move signals another shifting power dynamic in Hollywood, as the streaming giants increasingly influence the more traditional industry structures. The inclusion of Amazon may also impact MPA’s lobbying efforts, potentially advocating for policies that benefit both theatrical and streaming models. As the lines between tech companies and studios continue to blur, other players like Apple TV+ may also eye similar moves in the future. For now, however, the MPA has gained another streaming stalwart with an eye on theatrical releases.

Despite Paramount’s enduring high-profile woes in finalizing its impending M&A deal, media deals are very much back on the scene. Fox, it would appear, is now keen to find themselves a great deal among current offerings. Our Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake, analyzes this intriguing development further.

Brandon Blake

A Strong Balance Sheet 

Speaking at the end of their recent Goldman Sachs media conference session, CEO Lachlan Murdoch gave a rather unusual hint that Fox is looking for new M&A opportunities in answer to questions about the company’s projected evolution over the coming few years. 

Not only is it odd for a CEO not to focus on current growth and investments, but the M&A space has been more characterized by very rocky deals than it has smooth ones in recent years. After all, neither Paramount nor Warner Bros. Discovery had a textbook merger experience. However, as he swiftly pointed out, Fox itself is in a far stronger position, including in its balance sheet, than either of those entities. A smart deal may, indeed, be only a “modest” investment for them, as he stated.

Potential Deals

We already know that Fox intends to exercise its option to take control of 18% of the FanDuel sports betting platform sometime before 2030, as they have kicked off licensing approval with regulators for the deal. However, where else may they be looking?

It’s unlikely to be linear entertainment. With cord-cutting set to accelerate and the company already having its Fox network and stations, it’s unlikely to turn up a compelling deal. Likewise, their foray into a streaming sports venture was recently blocked legally, although that matter is still working its way through the courts. 

For now, we can only speculate. However, this will be something to watch going forward. Perhaps Fox will be the company to succeed in giving us the first smooth M&A takeover of recent years. 

Will we continue to see the hot performance of the summer box office as we ease into the fall period? With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice bringing us another $100M+ opening weekend to celebrate and some hot titles (think Transformers One and Speak No Evil) still to come, we may see a September as peppy as the summer that preceded it. Entertainment lawyer from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, takes a closer look at the September box office spread.

Brandon Blake

Better Than 2023?

While the summer 2024 box office performance infused theatrical releases with the vigor that was missing from the start of the year, there’s one thing it didn’t manage to do — beat 2023. While we did see a significant reduction in the box office lag between 2024 and 2023, coming in at just 10% behind the same period last year instead of the once-dire 22% drops we saw predicted at the start of summer, more limited pipelines and some surprising underperformers have still left us in a benchmark deficit of sorts.

If all goes well (a big if in the turbulent box office), we should look at a September that reverses this trend. It’s perfectly possible we could see a $200M increase on last September’s takings.

Four Months to Go Big

If the theatrical box office is to move forward into true recovery territory, the last few months of the year will need to do some heavy lifting to catch up. It should be possible with several popular IPs ahead, free of the formulaic presentation that has turned away theatrical audiences. However, we’ve already seen how fickle these “guaranteed” successes can really be.

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice has already delivered a strong kick-off, topping $100M on its release weekend. If Transformers One manages the same, and it is well-positioned as an animated film, then we may make it. With a few more intriguing releases and strong summer holdovers, this could be the month the domestic box office has been waiting for.

It’s been an excellent 11-week run for the $100M+ box office, but we didn’t quite manage a 12th week in a row. However, coming in just short at $92M, with some solid hold-overs and new debuts, there’s still a lot of promise in the 2024 box office. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney Los Angeles, Brandon Blake, shares the news from this weekend.

Brandon Blake

Deadpool and Wolverine, Back Again

This was a weekend where the holdovers took the credit. Despite 3 new wide releases, they only managed to secure $19M, roughly a fifth of the weekend’s overall gross. Of these, the top performer was Blink Twice, but it still managed only an underwhelming $7.3M. However, it should do well as it evolves into Amazon’s streaming arm.

Deadpool and Wolverine continues to hold strong, with only a 39% drop and $18.3M added to its running total of $577M domestically. This makes it the best-performing Marvel title since Avengers: Endgame. Current projections see it closing around the $625M mark, possibly as high as $640M. This should see it take the No. 2 title for the summer both domestically and globally, behind the little-animation-that-could, Inside Out 2.

Alien a Box Office Let Down Domestically

While Alien: Romulus has had a robust international run, it continues to lag domestically, bringing in only a further $16.2M for a domestic total of $72M. Despite this, that strong overseas performance has left it at the $153M mark, which should at least push it into profitability.

Notably, the summer’s big “sleeper” hit, It Ends with Us, also managed a creditable $12M, a 50% drop for its third weekend in release. This puts it at the $121M mark domestically, with a similar international performance. Not bad for a film with a $25M budget that was expected to have limited appeal. Sony continues its strong run with The Forge, which has surpassed its $5M budget to pull in $6.6M despite a limited release.

What does this mean for the 2024 box office overall? With some strong potential for post-summer releases and a notably low box office decline of only 14%, we may yet reach the $8B needed to call this year a success.

California’s film industry dominance is significantly challenged as its global competitors ramp up tax incentives. In 2023, New York disbursed $124 million in tax credits to Paramount Global alone for projects that invested $425 million in the state. Meanwhile, California saw only $71 million in spending from Paramount, down from $295 million in 2020. This is a trend we are seeing repeat in many areas. Brandon Blake, our industry insider entertainment attorney Los Angeles from Blake & Wang P.A., takes a closer look.

Brandon Blake

LA No Longer the Location Destination of Choice

Los Angeles’ US film and TV employment share dropped from 35% to 27% between 2022 and 2023. The city experienced a sluggish return to filming post-strikes, with TV production trailing its five-year average by 32%. Tax incentives are primarily driving this shift. California offers only a 20% base credit with a $330 million cap, lower than many of its rising competitors.

Georgia, offering 20% plus a 10% uplift, saw $2.6 billion in film spending in 2024. The UK has become a prime destination for big-budget films, offering incentives on above-the-line costs, which California doesn’t. Nor is the competition local only. As more and more international destinations seek to compete on the global filming stage, we’re seeing more and better tax incentives arise overseas.

An International Stage

Canada and Australia are attracting a lot of post-production work with generous VFX incentives. In fact, the UK recently increased its VFX credit to stay competitive. Studios are also influencing interesting location-shooting policies, with Warner Bros. promising $500 million annually to Nevada if it increases its tax incentive cap.

Reality TV production in LA plummeted 57% in Q2 2024 as other regions like Illinois expanded their incentives to include unscripted formats. Asian countries like Japan and Thailand are also entering the incentive race in a big way.

Despite these challenges, California remains a significant production hub. However, as the global competition for Hollywood dollars intensifies, the power of a well-placed tax incentive is reshaping the landscape of film and TV production worldwide. Healthy competition will benefit everyone, but it may be time for California to rethink its own tax credit program a little if it wants to retain its title as the go-to Hollywood location destination of choice.

2024 may have gotten off to a slow start, but it’s building for a strong finish. With several remarkable performances and Deadpool and Wolverine boosting itself over the $1B line all in one weekend, it’s another one to celebrate. Brandon Blake, our entertainment lawyer from Blake & Wang P.A., brings the good news to us.

Brandon Blake

A $1B Milestone Passed

To no one’s surprise, Deadpool & Wolverine has well over $1B in the bag across its global release and still has plenty of room to go. Some more positive pundits suggest we may see a $1.5B performance from the film before it leaves the theatrical circuit.

It Ends With Us Fights Back

There was also more fun at the weekend box office with a celebrity couple match-up. With Ryan Reynolds dominating the charts as Deadpool, Blake Lively managed to unseat them in several early-week showings, to propel It Ends With Us, Sony’s latest release, to an utterly unexpected $80M global opening. Note that it was predicted to make about $20M-$30M! It has yet to release to all markets, including several key performers like France, Germany, Korea, Japan, and China, too. Word of mouth should build it up to new heights, too. It’s currently occupying the No. 2 spot in most markets and even took No. 1 in 12. Kudos to Sony for a very well-timed release!

We see some great returns from pictures like Illumination/Universal’s Despicable Me 4. While not quite reaching the massive heights of Inside Out 2, it has delivered a strong and reliable performance and is currently sitting at a global cume of over $800M. Talking about strong legs, Inside Out 2 continues to deliver, bringing in another $14.5M domestically in its 9th weekend.

Overall, it’s been the sort of box office weekend we want to see more of. With a stronger slate and more releases due in the second half of the year, let’s hope to see it, too.

While Wall Street pundits and investors no longer consider subscription growth as the primary metric of interest for evaluating streaming services, it’s still an important factor. Warner Bros Discovery has not had the easiest year, especially on the stock market, and its lagging streaming growth despite the splashy appeal of its flagship Max service has been part of the issue. However, they’ve finally reached an important milestone in this matter, and Brandon Blake, our entertainment attorney in Los Angeles from Blake & Wang P.A., is here to report on it.

Brandon Blake

Crossing a Major Benchmark

Across their three primary platforms, Max, HBO, and Discovery+, Warner Bros Discovery can now lay claim to 103M subscribers. This covers another 3.6M subs onboarded in their latest financial quarter.

However, that was about the only good news from their latest earnings, and even then, the streaming segment of the company still lost money. However, it was a small loss, reaching just over, ironically, $100M in Q2. However, the company as a whole posted a massive $10B loss in the same quarter, primarily driven by asset revaluation, including the rather shocking valuation that the WBD TV networks were worth 9B less than anticipated.

Some Pleasant Surprises

While the box office bomb that was Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was a Q2 flop for WBD, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire provided a pleasant buffer, and the upcoming releases of Joker: Folie à Deux and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice should do well for it in the second half of the year, too. Luckily for WBD, it had the first episodes of House of the Dragon Season 2, the strong performance of Hacks Season 3, and the Dune: Part Two streaming release to buoy them.

WBD is also looking to launch a sports-focused streaming service, Venu, in the near future. Could this be the impetus the struggling company needs to turn its fortunes around? It’s certainly a good start.