The entertainment world has certainly gotten more complex since streaming became a mainstream distribution platform. Most especially the Upfronts season, which has changed into a mammoth endeavor including the traditional Upfronts as well as the so-called New Fronts, aimed specifically at streaming, and the considerable cross-over we’ve seen of late with who presents where. Kicking off this Upfront season, we have some insight into AMC’s upcoming plans. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, offers some insights from their latest advertiser pitch. 

Brandon Blake

An Unusual Pitch

In an unusual twist for an Upfronts pitch, AMC Networks are inviting not just their brand marketing partners and other clients, but also their distribution partners, to its (self-described) “immersive” programming showcase. 

They have a good point with this shift in traditional Upfront tactics. As ad placement becomes increasingly important to advertisers, it will no doubt be useful to have all those audiences together in one room. 

Big Plans

Alongside its attempt to bring classic literature to life through its new anthology franchise series, AMC is also expanding the slate for Acorn TV significantly, with several key new crime dramas earmarked for the platform. Timely, as they’re also launching a FAST TV option for the service, meaning advertiser buy-in will be critical. AMC indicated that it will be focusing on fully branded “moments” tied to key cultural themes throughout the year, from the Sundance Film Festival to Christmas itself. They also have announced a significant expansion in their horror lineup to match. 

All of this will be presented in a novel format, indeed, as they have also partnered with the Las Vegas Sphere for enhanced branding leaning into that horror theme. Will it be enough to help them pep up their flagging bottom line and reinvent themselves to better fit the modern entertainment environment? This will definitely be an Upfronts pitch to watch. 

It’s no surprise that the power of the House of Mouse brand has made it one of the top global players in entertainment media, really. With the nostalgic power of its cornerstone animations attracting both younger and older viewers, an edgier storytelling arm in Pixar, and its many, many beloved IPs, success in a “Disney space” is often a matter of competing for the No. 2 spot. Even Netflix has failed to challenge them on the revenue front. However, it seems that YouTube may just manage to surpass them. To tell us more, we have entertainment lawyer from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake.

Brandon Blake

YouTube May Take the Crown This Year

If current projections hold, we may even see Disney unseated this year. Based on projections from Wall Street analysts, YouTube is on track to pass Disney on the revenue front by the end of 2025. Last year the company brought in $54.2B in revenue. 

It also accounts for far more viewers— to the tune of twice that of Disney or, indeed, any other media giant. It’s always hard to properly compare one integrated business with another. After all, Disney has its highly successful parks arm, and YouTube is but one facet of Alphabet. However, it is estimated that, if YouTube was a standalone company, it would be worth somewhere between $475B and $550B.

Advertising “in the Living Room”

Entertainment media companies, looking for new ways to monetize their viewership, have bought into ad-supported models heavily over the last two years. Here, YouTube has an immense early-mover advantage. Some even feel it could be under-monetizing its offerings. As it covers the ground in dominating TV set viewing as well as online, this leaves the company well positioned to make the most of the rise in home entertainment viewing from digital sources.

While YouTube becoming the year’s top revenue earner may not have been on many lists, it makes sense, particularly as we’ve watched them climb up rankings like Nielsen’s Gauge. Now, it remains to be seen what they will do with the lofty throne they may well toss the world’s most famous mouse out of— and whether we could even be looking at a future where “YouTube Original” is a drawcard.  

Paramount+ has been in a flurry of new territory rollouts across the globe, and now we’re seeing increased expansion in some of their European territories as well. To fill us in, we have our insider expert, entertainment lawyer Los Angeles at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake.

Brandon Blake

Two New Subscription Tiers

As of last week, Paramount+ now has launched new subscription tiers (premium and ad-supported) for its Swiss, German, and Austrian markets. This supplements the existing standard tier already available in those territories. Notably, Paramount+ also went on record to note that almost half of their DTC signups in Canada, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, and the United Kingdom are being driven by these non-standard plans. The appeal of the ad-supported basic plan is easy to see. The premium plans offer dedicated viewers perks such as 4K UHD, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos, as well as streaming on up to four devices concurrently. 

International Subscriber Growth

Paramount+ has seen immense subscriber growth in its international markets in the last few years, likely driven by its extensive (and rather recognizable) content library, which includes the Star Trek franchise and popular children’s hit SpongeBob. 

We’ve seen many streamers look to expanded streaming tiers as a subscription growth driver over the past year, including Netflix’s notorious password-sharing crackdown, which spurred the introduction of ad-supported plans across many streaming platforms.

As for these three European markets, specifically, Paramount+ has already seen “record-breaking” uptake in those areas at the end of last year. With the new introductions, they hope to solidify this growth for these markets and grow their DTC segment. 

Despite the recent rocky M&A activity at Paramount Global itself, Paramount+ is finally managing to carve its own space in the streaming market. Will this further expansion help to buoy that growth? It certainly seems like it. 

As we sadly see Village Roadshow file for bankruptcy, one key question remains— what will happen to its library assets? As the debates around the future ownership of this lucrative catalog heat up, we have entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, to shed some light on the matter. 

Brandon Blake

Bankruptcy Filings

Despite several attempts to boost their in-house content development, and on the heels of a noted souring of the relationship with one-time partner Warner Bros. Discovery, Village Roadshow has been unable to repeat the magic it once had with popular franchises like Ocean’s Eleven and The Matrix. Sadly, the bulk of its current woes can be traced to its attempt to shift away from box office development into an in-house film and TV developer. 

Nor did a messy copyright entanglement with WBD help anything, especially as it sidelines quite a few of their more lucrative IPs, which have joint rights. There’s also a block on work for Village Roadshow from the Writers Guild of America due to unpaid dues for its members.

Library Assets Up for Grabs

Currently, it’s reported that Village Roadshow’s library assets generate over $50M a year, an appealing collection indeed for the right buyer. Especially as streaming services look to revive older library assets as an on-platform money generator, as we saw with Suits.

Ironically, Warner Bros. Discovery seems to be one of the frontrunners for the Village Roadshow library. While there is a tentative agreement in place with Content Partners, an investment firm, set at the $365M mark, this is only a baseline figure, and the company is still seeking higher bids. The assets themselves have been valued at anything from $100M to $500M, but the ongoing bankruptcy and litigation issues have made closing a transaction difficult. 

While it’s always sad to see a Hollywood stalwart fade away, at least Village Roadshow’s well-respected content library will live on. 

We’ve been watching the looming split between Lionsgate Studios and Starz for a long while now, primarily as the necessary SEC proceedings slowly worked their way through the courts. They have tentatively suggested that an official shareholder meeting be held by the end of April. Now, it seems that the news is official. To share more, we have entertainment lawyer Brandon Blake of Blake & Wang P.A. 

Brandon Blake

Special Shareholder Meeting

Lionsgate Studios and Starz will, indeed, honor that tentative promise after all. It was announced last week that the final shareholder vote will go ahead on April 23 this year, which is the last formal step required before the separation of the two entities. All shareholders on record as of March 12 this year will have a ballot open to them at the meeting. 

The State of the Separation

This has been a long time coming for the two entities— so long, in fact, that one of the first setbacks was the pandemic itself. However, despite the many roadblocks that managed to interfere along the way, the split itself seems to have been one of the most amicable and simple of the M&A activities we’ve seen of late. This is likely due to a shared group vision of each entity’s future prospects. 

This separation builds on a trend we have seen throughout the industry in recent years. Comcast, for example, is currently in the process of spinning off its remaining NBCUniversal cable networks into a company tentatively named SpinCo (for now) as a standalone publicly traded entity. That deal is currently set to close by the end of the year.

When the Starz/Lionsgate split finally closes, Lionsgate Studios will be 88% owned by Lionsgate itself. For now, however, it seems the deal is full steam ahead for an end-April closing. 

With the prospect of a strong recovery for the post-pandemic box office finally becoming a reality, will the promised new influx of Apple and Amazon MGM new films help ensure the strong slates needed for real growth? Our local entertainment lawyer, Blake & Wang P.A.’s Brandon Blake, takes a look.

Brandon Blake

New Entrants to Theatrical Spaces

Currently, the 2025 wide-release slate by pure release numbers is still below the volume we saw in 2019. However, it has significantly improved from the last few post-pandemic years, something we have highlighted is critical to maintaining theater-going momentum and interest.

Historically, Amazon MGM has only pushed films into theatres on a limited scale, mostly to cater to awards season requirements rather than as major releases in themselves. However, they recently expressed that they are anticipating growing to around 16 wide releases annually by 2027 and have already amplified their existing theatrical output. Interestingly, they’re also moving to in-house distribution rather than using third parties.

Likewise, we have seen Apple promise to beef up its number of theatrical releases as part of a wider push to build its brand. Again, historically, they have been shy about courting cinema screen time, so this is a big departure.

Indie Studios Help Significantly

These releases from mainstream studios are important to keeping theatre-going numbers high. Let’s not overlook, however, that independent studios like A24 and Neon also helped boost the number of cinema goers tremendously last year. These indie releases, alongside some successful alternate media releases like concerts, have likewise played a key role in keeping audiences interested and invested in cinema-going as part of their daily entertainment rather than just occasional blockbuster premiers.

Encouragingly, we have seen similar life cycles for theatrical releases to pre-pandemic trajectories despite the shortening of theatrical windows and the addition of PVOD releases to the mix. All in all, the theatrical release model is showing fantastic signs of recovery, and with more theatrical output from a broader range of studios, we’re well set for that long-awaited return to prominence. 

Disney may be well-positioned to knock Netflix off of its streaming pedestal— at least if their gains with their streaming bundles continue through the year. With immense customer traction, they’ve made significant gains in closing the gap with Netflix, as well as a substantial reduction in customer churn. To tell us more, we have entertainment attorney from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake.

Brandon Blake

Was Bundling the Secret All Along?

Of course, we’ve seen some steep subscription price increases from Disney throughout the 2024 and 2024 periods, so a rise in revenue alone was almost guaranteed. More importantly, however, their most recent findings suggest that their focus on bundling their various entertainment services with competitor streamers has made great strides in reducing customer churn. It’s suggested that 80%, or four-fifths, of their 1.6M subscriber gains in the July-December period are still with the Disney-Max bundle 3 months later. Additionally, their main bundle saw 10% more customer acquisitions than the Disney+/Hulu offering, and 20% more than Max alone, which also has bundles on offer.

Subscriber churn has been a growing problem for streaming services across the board, as subscribers dip in and out according to their viewing preferences. As a comparison, Netflix’s figures lie in the 55% range, despite offering more programming, as does the premium Disney+/Hulu/ESPN bundle. 

A Change Ahead for the Streaming Industry?

Naturally, it would be foolish to make sweeping pronouncements on a single quarter, no matter how successful. However, it does show that cross-company bundling has (or, at least, is perceived to have) more value for customers than within-service bundles like Max or Disney’s flagship offerings. Especially when it comes to addressing that thorny issue of churn. 

In a landscape that has also seen the average price of streaming offerings rise sharply, there’s obvious customer appeal in offering avenues into two different services through the same subscription cost. Will we see other services jump on this cross-platform model? Can Disney and Max sustain these gains? And will we finally see serious competition for Netflix’s premiere streaming position? It will be interesting to see how the rest of the year unfolds. 

Ne Zha 2 is now, officially, the highest-grossing animated film of all time— and almost no one saw it coming. What started as a fun title for the Chinese Spring and Lunar New Year Festival has turned into a market phenomenon. Here’s entertainment lawyer from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, with the happy news.

Brandon Blake

Breaking Inside Out 2 Record

As of Wednesday last week, Ne Zha 2 has now officially passed Inside Out 2’s $1.699B record to take the title of top-grossing animated film of all time. Perhaps more remarkable, however, is that $1.7B of that is from its home market alone, with the film only just expanding to further international markets last week. Its total to date is at $1.72B and is expected to keep rising. This also gives it the No. 8 spot on the overall movie earnings of all-time list. 

Where to from Here?

Currently, it is predicted that the film will close in China at $2.08B. If it achieves this, it will finish around the No. 5 spot on the all-time chart. More notably, however, this will build on a record it has already set when it crossed the $1B mark in a single market. Seeing a $2B single market release would be amazing, indeed. It has already had its Chinese box office run extended further and will remain in theaters there until March 30. It has yet to be released in Hong Kong. 

It’s been a truly remarkable run for a film no one, including Chinese critics, had on their radar going into the Chinese New Year. Now the first non-Hollywood movie to make it to the billion-dollar club, alongside its slew of other records, its international expansion is definitely going to be something to watch. 

Last week, Domain Capital Group announced it would be co-financing a rather ambitious slate of new films in partnership with Paramount. To share more insight into the coming deal we have entertainment lawyer Brandon Blake, of Blake & Wang P.A. 

Brandon Blake

30 New Pictures

Although Domain has not released details on how much of each upcoming release it will be co-financing, we do know that there will be 30 films covered under the deal, across a variety of budgets. Under certain circumstances (not yet revealed), the deal may be automatically extended to 40 pictures. 

Domain has already had some notable successes working in tandem with Paramount in the past, including on Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Gladiator II. The upcoming Paramount releases The Smurfs Movie, The Naked Gun, Novocaine, and The Running Man will also be part of the deal.

Building Domain’s Film Library

Judging from comments from Pete Chiappetta, Domain’s Managing Director of Media, Entertainment & Technology, the end goal of the new deal is to build up Domain’s own film library to put to work for its investors. This may hint at their, or Paramount’s, expansion into the third-party licensing space down the line, a strategy that has worked rather well for several other streamers, Netflix included. 

It certainly seems as thorough as they are hoping to build this initial deal into a long-term relationship across the board. Domain has partnered in a co-financing deal with Warner Bros before, and can, in fact, claim a share of their highest-grossing movie, Barbie. They also helped bring Wonka, The Color Purple, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to our screens. 

For these Warner Bros. Discovery deals, Domain had a 10% stake in each title, so we can assume the Paramount deal is working within similar parameters. With such lofty targets set, it will be interesting to see what comes of the new deal. 

As we’d expect from one of the hottest sports moments of the year, the Super Bowl weekend traditionally sees a very sluggish domestic box office. With studios and distributors keen to see the momentum gained in 2024 carry forward into the 2025 box office landscape, what were the results from this key weekend on the calendar? Generally, quite positive, as entertainment lawyer Brandon Blake, of Blake & Wang P.A., is here to share.

Brandon Blake 

Best Post-COVID Result

Was it a record-beater? No, as we would expect. However, this weekend’s box office will be one of the strongest overall results for this weekend since the pandemic disruptions. Dog Man turned in a solid performance, landing at $13.7M in takings over what was actually its second release weekend. We haven’t seen that since Death on the Nile in 2022, which only claimed $12.8M over the same weekend. 

Ironically, 2022 is the weekend to beat overall, too, with $53.8M across all titles. While the results are still being calculated, this weekend looks to have turned in a healthy $54.4M. 

Indies Perform Well

This weekend also saw two small-budget movies launch, Heart Eyes from Spyglass and Sony, and Love Hurts from Universal and 87North. While both turned in sub-$10M performances, as one can expect from smaller titles, those still represent a milestone recovery point for this critical slice of the box office pie, again building on 2024’s momentum. 

Heart Eyes did particularly well, bringing in $8.5M, with Love Hurts netting a lukewarm $5.8M. Once again, this highlights how important diverse slates including lower-budget titles are for the overall health of the box office, even if they don’t turn in the splashy figures blockbusters can.

While Super Bowl weekend will never be anything to write home about at the box office, the fact that 2025 managed to deliver a very credible performance despite the lure of this iconic part of the sports calendar points to a far healthier and happier box office than we’ve seen in previous years. Let’s hope that momentum continues to build in the rest of the year.