It seems it is a week for the smaller streaming platforms to shine. Alongside considerable movement from Apple, including its new rebrand, we also saw a new international licensing and distribution deal between Bell Media and Tubi. Our Blake & Wang P.A. expert entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, shares more below.

Brandon Blake

Bell Media and Tubi Sales Pact

Tubi, which functions mostly as Fox’s ad-supported streamer, is now heading to Canada as a result of the new deal for both content and ad sales with Bell Media. Under the terms of the deal, they will co-develop original content for global release on Tubi and Bell’s platforms. Bell will take over as the exclusive ad sales partner for Tubi in Canada, while also bringing its own FAST channels to the platform.  

A Difficult Market

In the Canadian TV market, we’ve seen subscribers opt out of legacy channels in favor of streaming platforms, giving Tubi some groundwork it has taken full advantage of. Tubi’s cheaper, ad-supported offerings have seen considerable uptake, even ahead of local media companies. Under the new development deal, we will also see Canadian-focused originals created both for local markets and for release in the US under the broader Fox banner. It’s perhaps worth remembering that Bell Media itself has a stake in the indie producer, Sphere Media, as well as several content development pacts with some notable companies, including  Lionsgate itself. 

This should allow Fox, Bell Media, and Tubi itself to share both risks and costs in new developments, as well as take advantage of local tax credits. With the service having already demonstrated both traction among local audiences as well as viewer interest, it will be interesting to see how the new deal changes its appeal to Canadian viewers, as well as how the coming Canadian originals perform on US streaming platforms. 

What’s in a name? For Apple TV, it’s certainly not a plus. In yet another subtle rebrand for one of our major streaming services, Apple is shedding the plus for a fresh, clean look. With all the details, we have our entertainment lawyer from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, to keep us in the loop.

Brandon Blake

A New Identity

Apple quietly revealed the name change during its press release around the shift of its highly successful release, F1: The Movie, onto the streaming service. While their claims of it being a “vibrant new identity” may be stretching it a bit far, it does highlight a swing we’ve seen to simpler, clearer brand identification among the top streaming platforms of late.

The Little Streamer That Could

While Apple TV remains one of the smallest mainstream streaming platforms, with only 45M subscribers and most indications suggesting it runs at a notable loss (perhaps even $1B a year), covered by the rest of the Amazon shopping ecosystem, it does have some accolades that earn it its “major” status.

Most notably, Apple was the first streaming service to win the Academy Award for Best Picture with a win for CODA. They have also had further successes with The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse in the animated short film category, and, of course, Killers of the Flower Moon netted 10 nominations, the equal of many a legacy studio in the day. With their TV Original, Ted Lasso, having also dominated in several Emmy awards seasons, Apple TV accounts for 620 wins and 2,816 nominations, with 22 of those in the latest Emmy session. 

While the quiet dropping of the plus is likely to go mostly unnoticed within an industry that already saw them as just “Apple” to start with, it does raise the question of whether we will see other action from Apple ahead, as they have also been very active in the deal and bundling market of late. 

While rushing into another merger was likely not on anyone’s Bingo card for this year, it looks like there could be a deal shaping for Warner Bros from the now David Ellison-run Paramount. With full details, we have our entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake. 

Brandon Blake

A Fantastic Year for Warner Bros

If Warner Bros did want to shelve its looming split between its legacy and streaming assets and pursue a deal for the whole company, it’s certainly in a fantastic place for it. They were officially the first studio to cross the $4B mark at the box office this year, with a string of successes across both tentpoles and smaller releases. Much of this success has been laid at the door of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture chairs, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy- and we have recently seen their contracts formally renewed, which would be a drawcard for a buyer.

No Formal Offer Yet

However, despite the bevy of rumors around a potential purchase, no formal offers have yet been made, and we do know that informal discussions have taken place. Naturally, all parties would be keen to avoid the prolonged, painful regulatory processes that marred the Skydance merger. Warner Bros. is also currently very debt-heavy, which may be an issue.

There is also the issue of what this would mean for the current Warner Bros. leader, David Zaslav, who is unlikely to make the transition into a merged entity, should it occur. The Ellisons are more likely to want a new broom to sweep clean if they take control. As Zaslav has himself been very prominent as Warner Bros. head, this may cause further conflict. 

For now, we have no formal word on if, let alone when, we may hear a formal bid from Paramount. However, it does seem increasingly likely that we will see a formal bid for the full company in the future, and whether Warner Bros. will ever make it to the planned legacy/streaming split is looking less certain than it did a few months ago.

Paramount, through its Channel 5 British network, has seen lower profits and sales, but they are still going big on local content spending. Our Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, walks us through their reasoning. 

Brandon Blake

First Earnings Since Merger

This is the first earnings announcement for Channel 5 since the Skydance-Paramount merger finally closed earlier this year. In 2024, Channel 5 brought in £21M, down 81% from 2023’s £112.4M. However, it must also be noted that redressing an accidental underpayment to ad partners did eat up a chunk of this year’s profits. 

When that payment is taken out of the mix, it does look a lot brighter. 2024 saw an operating profit of £12M in 2024, compared to £22.7M in 2023. Revenue was down by only 1% at £314M. The broadcaster has managed to make a profit in 9 of the past 10 years, with the pandemic-ridden 2020 the only exception.

High Content Spending

Paramount has always seen Channel 5, and its streaming arm, 5,  as an important part of its UK market presence. 5 is, in fact, one of the fastest-growing streamers among UK public broadcasters. However, there may be changes coming. Their content spending hit a 3-year high (£216.6M), whereas most other competing channels have slowed down considerably. 

With Paramount finally able to focus on its profitability and restructuring under the Skydance deal, the sustainability of those levels of spending may be in question. We have seen a general trend of streaming services looking to cut excessive content spending as each service aims for profitability, so whether they will rein in that spending is certainly a core question.

However, the news around Channel 5 has been generally positive, and Paramount seems committed to keeping it healthy for the sake of their UK market. It is likely we will see further changes coming for the service soon.

As we prepare for awards season, what can the festival sales so far tell us? Building on our earlier roundup of the Cannes sales to date, we have entertainment attorney Brandon Blake at Blake & Wang P.A.

Brandon Blake

Potential for The Right Buyer

While Venice does not have a dedicated film market in the way that Cannes does, its hits (and misses) can still tell us a lot about what we could see hitting the awards scene. For TIFF, this will be its last year without a dedicated market, with a new initiative kicking off from the 2026 iteration. 

Perhaps one of the most interesting “acquisitions” out of this year’s Telluride festival, however, is the sale of Tuner to Black Bear, also its creator. With Black Bear having freshly launched its own distribution arm, keeping another of their festival titles (Christy) for themselves, it was speculated whether they would retain distribution rights for the thriller as well. Christy, particularly, has immense potential for the awards circuit. 

Other Names to Know

Row K Entertainment has been an active buyer, taking the distribution rights to Poetic License and Charlie Harper (both TIFF Special Presentations) as well as Dead Man’s Wire, which played out of competition at Venice. We may see Dead Man’s Wire pushed out later this fall in anticipation of awards qualification. Row K Entertainment is a brand-new distributor, making their first acquisitions particularly noteworthy. We see a similar situation with Erupcja, which went to 1-2 Special, another new face on the distribution scene. 

Netflix, meanwhile, took home rights to Cover-Up, with Paramount+ netting itself Adulthood, a black comedy that is already heading to streaming. Fittingly, Man on the Run went to Amazon MGM. Sony could be eying awards success with anime to build on the fantastic box office run for Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, acquiring Scarlet from the Venice Out of Competition circuit for release later this year. 

All in all, TIFF, Venice, and Telluride have brought some buzzy titles to life, and it is good to see the pace of sales accelerate as we head towards awards season. 

Just about a year ago, we saw the largest cinema circuits in North America pledge to invest north of $2B in modernizing and upgrading the American cinema experience. How far have they gotten? We have our entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, to share the news.

Brandon Blake

$1.5B Already Invested

Over the last 12 months, over $1.5B in upgrades and new builds, including $920M from the largest 8 chains, has been spent. Not bad, for the first year in a three-year plan. Especially as we see box office volumes, on the audience and the slate side, accelerating alongside them. 

These upgrades and modernizations have been identified as a key facet in adapting the exhibition industry to the “new normal” of younger, more demanding audiences wanting their entertainment choices to be more experiential and offer more value than sitting on the couch with their streaming services. 

Knock-On Impacts

We are seeing new fits cover everything from revitalized multi-screen theaters and reopening those that had shuttered. However, we are also seeing some chains, especially those looking for a luxury “rebrand” of sorts, explore options from bringing in alternate entertainment (from bowling to, reportedly, axe throwing) to improving the behind-the-scenes experience with new projectors, screens, and sound systems. Adding extended food and beverage options, up to near-restaurant experiences in some cases, has also been popular. 

Bringing new life back to the cinema as an entertainment focal point isn’t just about the chain’s pockets, either. Recreating the cinema experience as a go-to entertainment destination helps to feed back into the communities they support as well, making it a win-win for everyone.

All in all, it’s encouraging to see cinemas take the need to modernize so seriously, and it will be interesting to see how these upgraded and enhanced amenities contribute to the box office in the coming years. 

It’s been a week of dealmaking for Netflix. In addition to their new advertising pact with Amazon, they have also formally extended their streaming deal with AMC, bringing AMC IPs to life under the AMC Collection banner on Netflix’s platform. With the full story, we have Blake & Wang P.A. the best entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake. 

Brandon Blake

Extended Deal

Under the new terms of the deal, we will see several AMC properties brought to Netflix viewers, including new seasons of tried-and-trusted favorites like Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and The Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon. In addition to new properties, AMC will also be adding some library titles to Netflix’s offerings. Under the new deal terms, there will also be an international expansion, with some titles earmarked for specific overseas markets.

Building on a Prior Partnership

Netflix and AMC first teamed up for a content partnership like this last year, so the new deal is officially a deepening of that existing relationship. In particular, they are hoping to focus further on the franchisers that have seen good viewer uptake on Netflix. 

AMC Networks officially has the AMC+ streaming platform, which was released in June 2020, the height of the pandemic lockdowns. While they have 10.4M subscribers, the platform has remained very small in comparison to the major streamers, and deepening their ties to Netflix’s platform gives them a major boost in viewership as well as profits from the same. For Netflix, meanwhile, it means more fresh content and even greater domination of the streaming market, something becoming ever-more important as platforms like Disney and even Peacock have intensified their market outreach. 

As both bundling and content-sharing deals become increasingly important in the streaming space, it will be interesting to see how Netflix and AMC develop this partnership in the months to come.  

Independent financier, TPC, has made a deal with Myriad Pictures for its first formal library, further expanding its influence in rights management and film library ownership alike. With the full details, we have Blake & Wang P.A. best entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake. 

Brandon Blake

114 Title Deal

Under the deal, they will take control of 114 titles from Myriad. TPC has been eyeing smaller catalogs, those typically overlooked by major private equity investors, who tend to lean toward bulk acquisitions. They hope not only to manage their own assets, but also to develop a turnkey backend management solution for other rights holders. With this to back them, they are also looking at new titles from the Toronto International Film Festival.

What This Means for the Indie Landscape

First established in 2009, TPC launched as a production finance company. However, it has since expanded into full-service provision across studios, brands, producers, and agencies from a wide swathe of the entertainment industry, including both TV and film and video games. TPC falls under the broader banner of Forest Road, who also own the indie film distributor Vertical. To date, they have financed or serviced over 1,000 projects, both domestic and internationally, and typically target mid-budget indies in the $2M to $30M range. 

If they are keen to expand their efforts, as they seem to be, this could be good news for the indie film sector overall. As we have seen through the last few years, smaller and indie movies play a critical role in both keeping theatrical interest high among audiences and fortifying box office numbers. With a constant and reliable output of interesting niche movies to draw crowds in, it keeps the momentum and interest in movie-going among the audiences high, and it’s always good to see more interest and investment in independent productions. 

The indie box office is still ticking along fantastically, with several buzzy new titles reading this weekend to great success. To fill us in on all the details, we have Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake. 

Brandon Blake

Successful New Releases

This weekend saw Eden, Relay, and Honey, Don’t! Release, with Splitsville, Pools, and Lurker also headed to limited release with expansions set over the coming weeks. For those taking notes, Splitsville was a Cannes 2025 release, which saw the highest PSA from the weekend. Lurker comes to us courtesy of Mubi and seems to have been the best-reviewed film from the weekend, with sold-out screenings and plenty of social traction. 

Splitsville took the crown with $105.6K across 5 theaters in New York and LA. That works out to a per-screen average of $21K, definitely a strong start. It will have a further limited expansion this week, opening up to a more moderate release by the following weekend. 

Other Successful Titles

Lurker, meanwhile, a Sundance title, saw $64.4K over 4 screens, with a national expansion planned for the coming weekend. Pools also saw great success with audiences, opening to a sold-out showing that brought in $10.9K from just the single screen. It has seen great social media presence, with several viral clips ahead of its opening contributing to those sold-out seats. It seems to be finding a niche among younger movie goers keen to enjoy the last of the summer. 

Honey, Don’t! saw a wider release, taking on 1,317 theaters for an estimated taking around the $3M mark, enough to take the No. 7 spot on this week’s Top 10 list. This is in line with projections for the film, although slightly on the lower side. It has seen great success in the Alamo Drafthouse theaters, grossing more than four times their norm for a film of this type. 

All in all, it was another strong indie weekend at the box office. Let’s hope to see this momentum continue through the end of the year and beyond. 

It seems the newly merged Skydance-Paramount company is ready to hit the ground running. With news breaking that they are in talks with Legendary Entertainment for a new multi-film global theatrical distribution deal, we have Blake & Wang P.A. best entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, to share the news.

Brandon Blake

Terms Still to Come

Reportedly, the deal has been in the works since spring this year, but terms are still being hashed out.  It is expected that the end deal will be a transactional window with Legendary, with co-financing up for discussion, depending on available projects. We already know that Paramount is looking to ramp up its annual feature output, targeting 15 new releases a year at present, and set to expand to 20 films down the line. 

New Exclusive Legendary Theatrical Deal

Legendary does not, at present, have exclusive theatrical deals with any major studio. That said, however, they do have their Monsterverse and Dune franchises, which are currently parked with Warner Bros. They also had a share of the success of A Minecraft Movie earlier this year. At $955M, it is the second-highest-grossing film this year, behind the Disney live-action Lilo & Stitch.

Legendary did have a deal in place with Sony, which expired last December, but their projects with Warner Bros. have definitely been more successful for them than the Sony partnership. However, similarly to the Sony deal, the proposed Paramount partnership will cover global distribution, but excluding China, where Legendary East already handles all marketing and distribution. 

Will this be the start of a new, beautiful thing for Paramount? It certainly should be a feather in the studio’s cap, with Legendary offering a dedicated fan base and appealing slate to help bolster their return to the theatrical circuit. This will definitely be a deal to watch.