Roku Gains Again

Roku may have finally gained some mainstream prominence, but it remains one of the least considered streaming services. Despite that lack of real market saturation, the company continues to perform strongly, with December 2025 now its all-time high month, as Brandon Blake, check entertainment attorney Los Angeles with Blake & Wang P.A., is here to share

.Entertainment lawyer

Brandon Blake

Positive Net Income

Alongside that monthly high of 6.3% of all TV streaming, Roku also had a strong fourth quarter. Their $1.5B of net revenue is a 16% uptick on the year and managed to exceed Wall Street expectations. Net income was $80.5M, or $0.53 per share. Platform revenue was the bulk, at $1.2B, an 18% boost driven mostly by video ads and interface improvements.

This was also their biggest quarter so far for premium subscriptions, which includes Roku’s third-party bundles. Quite logical, really, given this was also the festive season, and so holiday promotions would have lured in some new eyes. Roku has also been busy with expanded sports offerings, which, considered alone, saw a 75% uptick in interest.

Full Year Results

Given this was the last quarter for the company, we also have their full-year performance. That sees $4.7B in net revenue, or 15% up for the year. Platform revenue again did fantastically, at 18%, or $4.1B. They also saw a fully positive year, hitting $88.3B for net income. To round out the picture, they accounted for 145.6B streaming hours over the year, another 15% gain.

That’s a strong place to start the new year off, too. Currently, they are predicting $1.2B in revenue and $50M in income for the coming quarter, expanded to $5.5B in revenue and $325M for income over the year.

With a new streaming service recently launched, called Howdy, Roku is definitely starting its new year in a very strong place, even though it does not report its full subscriber numbers.

Lionsgate on the Up Again as Film Slate Beefs Up

After a shaky first quarter post the Starz split, things are looking a lot better for Lionsgate. Having managed to beat out the Wall Street forecasts, there are even better things ahead with a strong release slate, too, as our entertainment attorney from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, is here to share.

Brandon Blake

Beating Forecasts

In their latest quarterly earnings release, which details Q3 for them, Lionsgate Studios saw an 18% tick up in revenue, landing at $724M, and operating income at $85M – much better than Wall Street believed it would make. 

Motion Picture revenue was up 35%, with 2 highly successful releases, The Housemaid and Now You See Me, Now You Don’t, helping along the $421M taken. And importantly, we will only see The Housemaid’s full impact in Q4 for them, given it only had 12 days of Q3 in its run. 

The news wasn’t all good, however. Higher prints and advertising costs put pressure on the film segment, although it still brought in $58.5. This helped to offset some of the good news into an overall net loss for the year so far, but it’s still great to see the studio hitting its stride now that it is operating separately from Starz. 

Strong Slate Ahead

With the Starz split finally put to bed, we are also looking at a year with a much stronger Lionsgate release slate ahead. Their TV production arm also did well, with revenue of $303M and a segment profit of $55.7M. Although these are lower than the previous year, that’s mostly a timing snag. Their extensive library has been bringing in strong revenue, rising 10% to set a billion-dollar new record. 

While Lionsgate itself likely would have liked to see that loss gap close up a little more, it’s a more impressive showing than we saw in the prior quarter, and suggests we will see some great results from them in their next fiscal year. 

AMC Losses Reduced, even as Chain Restructures Debt

AMC is not due to give us its Q4 results just yet, but given that the chain is still struggling with a heavy debt load, we got a little sneak peek as they renegotiated their credit arrangements for some more breathing room. Review the entertainment attorney Brandon Blake, from Blake & Wang P.A., tells us what they shared.


Brandon Blake

Revenue Dip

Although revenue took a small knock, it only dropped by $0.01B from the year earlier, so it is probably best considered as flat. Adjusted losses also pulled in to $127.4M, from $135.6M.

That leaves their adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization at $134.1M, vs. the $164.8M prior. They will finish the year at $428.5M, with $48.8M withheld from that as restricted cash. Overall, revenue managed a 4.6% rise, with profit up by 13%.

A Step Forward

 With the box office offering a steady improvement from year to year post-pandemic, it may not be a dramatic recovery, but it is more than enough for some returned hope and confidence. We’ve also seen this year’s box office start well, and although the major snowstorms have held that back a bit, it’s still promising, with a strong slate ahead to support it.

 AMC was also able to share that their debt will be restructured again, with some new, secured debt, also offering them the breathing room to continue. This debt, which actually pre-dates the COVID pandemic, has proven very hard for AMC to get out from under, especially with the closures further impacting its performance. However, hopefully this will be the extra injection of hope and stability the chain needs to move ahead and take advantage of what should be a very good year at the box office, and hopefully overall for the exhibition industry.

Actually, Netflix Loves Theaters, in a Bold Stance Change

One of the biggest worries for many when it was first announced that Netflix would be taking over Warner Bros. Discovery was what that would mean for WBD’s massive legacy of theatrical films (and current commitments). After all, Netflix has firmly rejected theatrical releases for its own originals. It seems that may have changed, and we have Blake & Wang P.A. the USA entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles, Brandon Blake, to show what’s happened.

Brandon Blake

Just Not a Priority

Now, at least if we fully believe their recent statements, it’s not so much that Netflix didn’t see value in theatrical releases (a stance they have reiterated many times) but that it just wasn’t a priority for them. They’ve always loved cinema. Suddenly.

The rhetoric shared on their latest earnings call worked very hard to reposition Netflix from “anti” cinema releases to a more neutral “didn’t have the time.” Apparently, they have also “long been departing,” building one of their own.

Maybe they truly have changed their stance, especially with the historic Warner Brothers’ lot up for grabs, but let’s rather admit that as a development, not a handy retcon of facts that have been well-recorded over the years.

The Warner Bros. Question

It’s doubtful we’d be hearing from Netflix on cinemas at all if not for the looming deal with WBD, which has theatrical output still under contractual terms. Many have wondered what moving that powerhouse into a company thoroughly cold on theaters would mean for the wider entertainment world, and if we would lose the Warner Bros. legacy entirely.

However, it seems we can at least put that worry to bed. Faced with the prospect of a lucrative, established way to “win the box office”, especially given how well WBD releases have performed this year, it seems Netflix is, in fact, keen for its own slice of the pie. That’s at least one worry over that deal shelved, for now.

HBO Max Comes to Prime Video for Europe

While HBO may be a little late to the European expansion party, it has now netted itself a flock of bundling deals that will let it scale its local streaming fast. We have Blake & Wang P.A. USA based entertainment lawyer Los Angeles, Brandon Blake, on hand to share the news.

Brandon Blake

New Carriage Deals Included

With last week’s launch in both Italy and Germany, two of the largest European territories, alongside several other, smaller rollouts, HBO Max has finally made its presence felt. Thanks, in part at least, to a series of multi-year carriage deals with Amazon Prime Video. This means that HBO Max will be on offer as an add-on to existing Prime Video customers in these areas. As part of the deal-making, existing European Prime Video deals in several other territories are included.

Late Entry

HBO is reasonably late in entering the European streaming game, mostly due to its prior deals with pay-TV group Sky, which kept it out of the biggest territories. However, with this slew of fresh bundling and carriage deals under its belt, including some with local partners, should offer HBO Max a great way to scale up fast – and possibly, make up for lost time as streaming gets ever-more competitive.

It may look a whole lot like old-school cable bundling in streaming at the moment. But let’s be honest, cooperation is a smart answer to an increasingly crowded environment.
For HBO Max, the last phase of its European market grab will roll out in March, when it will launch inside the UK and Ireland. We will also see several local-language originals join the HBO Max slate for their territories, on offer from the middle of this year.

Will this European ramp-up be enough to reinvent HBO Max as a real player in the area? It’s certainly a good start.

China Sees a Massive Box Office Uptick

For Chinese cinemagoers, this was the year of the major blockbuster. With both a local and a Hollywood release performing remarkably, they’ve seen a big increase at the box office by pure numbers, but a struggling mid-tier segment does raise some questions about growth overall. We have a full roundup from expert entertainment attorney with Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake.


Brandon Blake

Top-Heavy Success

First, the good news. Ne Zha 2, a domestic breakout like no other, closed with $2.1B in takings, enough to make it the fifth-highest earning movie of all time, as well as the year’s undisputed top film. To further pad out the numbers, Zootopia 2 not only earned itself a Chinese screening but gave a further $558.3M to the total box office. Overall, the Chinese box office saw ticket revenue 20% higher than last year, at roughly $7.41B in sales and 1.24B in admissions.

The Year of Animation

What unites them? They’re both blockbuster-level animations. And, looking further down the list, 57 animated features brought in $3.57B, almost half the year’s total. What’s even more notable is that most of these titles saw fan-favorite status and high repeat viewings, with Nobody, a local animation, bringing in $245M and the international release, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, accounting for $95.6M despite an early exit from theaters.

While local titles still accounted for roughly 80% of the Chinese market, and there was encouraging growth in the country’s still-maturing suburban and regional markets, it is notable that most of the list is top-heavy, with mid-tier films shrinking notably for another year, even among Hollywood releases in the market. However, the appetite for locally-made films is still high.

What this could mean for the market overall waits to be seen, but China’s return to the second-largest global film market, at 24% of the global box office, is still to be celebrated.

Pay TV Bundles Grow, For the First Time in Years

It’s looking a little like 2017 again, at least for the Pay-TV world. With bundles showing their first growth in 8 years, there may be a little room to celebrate. And entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, has the news to share.

Brandon Blake

First Uptick Since 2017

It was a modest increase, certainly. 303,000 new subscribers, over cable, satellite, and streaming packages. While the decline rate was 5.8% still, that’s the fifth quarter we’ve seen it tighten. Notably, the Moffett Nathanson data behind it doesn’t size the total market. But that’s believed to be in the 65M to 70M range.  It may not be the king of the market hill anymore, but that is still weighty. More importantly, it may suggest what we’ve suspected all along: Pay-TV isn’t dead, its influence has just shrunk.

Intriguing Implications

With most cable providers showing at least a little improvement in this decline, and a wider move to consolidation and streamlining, we might be looking at (close to) the bottom for Pay-TV. In fact, the bottom may have passed already.

What’s changed?

Pay-TV got the wakeup it needed to start offering more, instead of cruising on what worked in the 90s and 00s. We’ve seen many streaming/cable bundles pop up this year, alongside that consolidation. Interestingly, YouTube TV, which has never been a true cable model, saw steady and in-line, but above all average, new subscriber rates. The slowdown in exits came from traditional broadcasting.

It turns out Pay-TV isn’t dead. It needed a new image and more interest for today’s viewers. It also shows streaming and older models still play nicely together. Pretty similar, in fact, to how theatrical releases have come to support streaming, not fall to it. It seems the Hollywood world does have space for different models and approaches, after all.

New Launches Ahead for HBL Max

Regardless of the drama around the sale of its Warner Bros. parent, HBO Max’s European rollout is forging ahead with new January launches. Review our entertainment attorney in Los Angeles at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, fills in their rollout plans.

Brandon Blake- Entertainment lawyer
Brandon Blake

Continued International Expansion

This launch will see HBO Max roll out across Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein on Jan 13, as wholly new markets for Warner Bros.’ flagship streamer. Despite the uncertainties surrounding their parent company at present, they have pushed ahead with their planned expansion into key European markets, and it will be completed in early 2026 with the launch of their UK and Irish services.

While this is a new launch for the UK, Italy, and Germany, they are already strong markets for HBO Max through a long-running exclusive partnership with Comcast-owned Sky.

100 Markets Strong

With these launches, HBO Max will now be available in over 100 markets in the ever-present hunt for new subscribers and market traction. With its much-respected back catalog of TV dramas, covering everything from Game of Thrones to The Pitt and The Last of Us, it certainly has a lot of traction to lean on. With some exciting upcoming releases as well, including another Game of Thrones spinoff and the new Harry Potter series, paired with the Winter Olympics for sports fans, they certainly have enough to tempt new subscribers.

In each of these markets, they are launching with 3 full tiers: Basic (with ads), Standard, and Premium. Additionally, there is a sports-focused add-on. Currently, HBO Max has 128M streaming subscribers across Europe, Central Asia, Asia-Pacific, the US, and Latin America.

Not bad, for a streaming platform that first launched in 2020. Now, all we are waiting for is news on who the winning bidder for Warner Bros. Discovery will be, and if they will be taking charge of the full company, or simply the Warner Bros. side of the business.

Japanese-Based Indie Film Financier Wins New State Support

The Japanese film industry to date has been characterized as conservative, partly held back by a dated film financing system. However, with the news that The Development Bank of Japan has made investment into K2 pictures, one of their most notable indie film financiers, that could be set to change. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney Los Angeles, USA, Brandon Blake, looks at what this could mean for Japanese indies.
Brandon Blake-  Entertainment lawyer
Brandon Blake

New Film Production Fund

Tokyo-based K2 Pictures is looking to launch a new production fund. So far, so regular business. What’s new, however, is the interest from The Development Bank of Japan, or DBJ. It seems there’s growing institutional confidence not only in K2 itself, but also the chances of shaking up Japan’s rather stagnant film financing framework.

DBJ will be investing 500 million yen, about $3.3M, in the new fund. Locally, it’s been called an “unprecedented show of support” for local independent film, especially with a strong list of blue-chip companies adding even modest amounts to the fund.

A Shift in Thinking

It seems that Japan’s most conservative sector of all- finance- is starting to see K2’s support of independent filmmaking as a viable approach. It’s an interesting development, given local cinema is dominated by careful franchises and the odd anime blockbuster. This leads to co-financing models headed by full studio consortia, with an added dash of broadcasters and publishers.

In short, something that not only makes it difficult for smaller filmmakers to compete but is also widely believed to stifle creative autonomy. K2 instead uses a profit-sharing model. This helps to lower the middlemen fees considerably, in turn making financing and production incentives (slightly) easier to access.

From its inception, announced at the 2024 Cannes, K2 has also managed to attract some of Japan’s most influential filmmakers, with names even the West will easily recognize, and also onboarded one of the country’s anime powerhouses. This will be one for independent filmmakers to watch.

Lionsgate Enters Digital Movies with New Launch

After parting ways with Starz and, by default, their largest streaming platform, Lionsgate is back, with a new digital movie network on offer. You could review entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, fills us in on the details below
.Brandon Blake
Brandon Blake

DirecTV Debut

The new all-movie digital network will be used to give its extensive 20,000+ title library some extra (and lucrative) airtime. To be called MovieSphere Gold, it will see its debut on DirecTV, Sling Freestream, Friendly, and DishTV, with several other hosts lined up. To no one’s surprise, given the shifts in the streaming environment, it will be an ad-supported subscription service.

While there are plenty of movies on offer across the varied modern streaming sources, this will be the first dedicated solely to movie titles. Plus, of course, the fact that many of Lionsgate’s catalogue are not currently available through other streamers.

An Answer to Broadcasting?

Interestingly, with the recent spin-off of Starz and its linear assets, it seems that Lionsgate Studios is looking to replicate the TV broadcast model that worked so well for them, with a modern streaming twist to reinvent it. It’s not a bad bet, with digital broadcasting in this vein showing steady growth and even a little expansion. As the CEO noted, there are now 8 “diginets” using a similar setup among the Top 50 entertainment networks.

With the Lionsgate reputation and catalog to back it, MovieSphere Gold is an interesting exercise in reinventing old strategies. While they have no plans at present to move fully into a streaming platform framework, despite some solid TV assets under their belt as well, the remaining question is now how much subscriber uptake they will receive, as North American viewers become ever top-heavier on subscriptions. Will Lionsgate’s pull be enough to make it a success? Let’s hope to see it thrive.