The world’s largest exhibitor suffered a brutal 90.9% drop in revenues during the most recent earnings period, with sales clocking in at $119.5 million. Losses hit $905.8 million or $8.41 cents a share. In the prior-year quarter, a time when cinemas were open around the globe and world-altering pandemics were largely the stuff of Hollywood thrillers, AMC logged revenues of $1.3 billion on a net loss of $54.8 million or 53 cents a share. – Variety
Category: media
Quibi’s Closure Announcement ‘Blindsided’ People Who Actually Make Its Content
Said crew members on one of the service’s original short-form series, “We were blindsided. We had just signed contracts and turned down other jobs to keep working on this show. … Our own execs had to constantly hound Quibi for further information.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Streaming Services Likely To Dominate This Year’s Oscars
It was always inevitable that Netflix’s awards tally would tick upward. The same goes for Hulu, Amazon and their myriad competitors. With Hollywood’s traditional studios prioritizing big-budget franchises that don’t appeal to prestige sensibilities, streaming platforms are becoming go-to vessels for the original, star-driven films that attract Oscar esteem. – HuffPost
Prognosis For Cable TV Is Even Worse Than You Think
“It’s all over for cable. Even Nielsen is saying that 25% of television viewing time is now streaming. Samsung is saying that if you’re a smart TV owner, over 50% of viewing time is streaming. That’s a problem for the cable networks. They have to follow the audience.” – Protocol
Cable TV Is Falling Off A Cliff
They expect about 25 million U.S. households to cancel their pay-TV subscriptions over the next five years. This is on top of the 25 million homes that have already cut the cord since 2012. At least three major media companies now expect pay-TV subscriptions to stabilize around 50 million, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to speak on the record because their company plans are private. – CNBC
Johnny Depp Loses Libel Case Against British Tabloid
After the tabloid The Sun called Depp a “wife beater,” the actor sued. But the judge in the civil lawsuit ruled that “the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp have been proved to the civil standard.” – The Guardian (UK)
Here Are Some Soothing Movies You Could Watch Multiple Times
If you needed to this week. No reason. Just in case. For instance, Moonstruck. “The deepest, richest, most romantic kind of a movie, a full-bodied glass of red wine to be enjoyed anytime one’s faith in humanity is fraying, Moonstruck might be the most comforting film ever made.” – The Atlantic
As A Big Company’s Streaming Service Turns One, It’s Falling Behind
Apple TV Plus’s big problem? No back catalog. It has 400 times fewer movies than Netflix. But that’s not really the point: “Apple TV Plus doesn’t need to be Netflix to help Apple achieve its primary goal of creating a services ecosystem that is just tantalizing enough for people to pay for a bundle and get locked into Apple’s universe.” – The Verge
The Australian Comedian Who’s Now Famous For Watching Paint
Christian Hull is popular not for watching paint dry, but for watching it mix – and guessing the colors that will result. – NPR
Is Hollywood Changing For Women Of Color?
Well, the two actors who responded in this interview had their own show when they did the interview – but by publication time, it was gone. Gabrielle Union: “When you talk about who is in positions of power, who has the ability to green-light something, who has the ability to help get someone paid, who has the ability to keep something on the air or yank it off … we are under-indexed on positions of power that control this town.” – Vulture