Netflix boils the frog a bit more
Netflix boils the frog a bit more
And A-listers' generous offer
What to know
Netflix adds robust 9M subs, increases price on premium plan, seeks more library content a la Suits… It was Netflix quarterly report day yesterday and with it we got a bunch of updates from the leading streamer. One, the password crackdown continues to work for them, leading to noticeable subscriber growth. How far we’ve come from the alleged “Netflix bubble burst” of 2022. The company must be feeling really bullish, because it’s also bumping prices on some plans, including a $3 increase on the premium tier. The price-increase strategy has so far been to slow boil the frog that is consumers — as to not shock people with a dramatic price hike. But $3/month is a pretty significant increase. So how about paying the actors what they’re worth? Elsewhere, the company says its pursuing more licensed titles based on the runaway success of Suits. Isn’t it funny how certain strategies come back around? Coming soon to Netflix, more old shows! And lastly, co-chief Ted Sarandos admitted that streaming data will become more transparent in the near future — which is great news. We’ll finally know for real what shows are hits and what aren’t. 🍿
A-listers offer to make big sacrifice to end strike… Hollywood’s top actors want to make a huge sacrifice to help end the actors strike.To catch you up, talks between the actors union and the studios stalled last week. After the actors asked to be paid a percentage of every streaming subscriber, the studios said this was a non-starter and walked away. But a lot of people would like to see the union and the studio get back to the table, including George Clooney, Emma Stone, Ben Affleck, Tyler Perry, and Scarlett Johansson. So they met with union leaders Tuesday night with a seemingly generous proposal. One, they suggested that SAG lifts the union dues cap on top earners. Right now union membership dues max out at $1 million, but the A-listers are offering to pay more of their salaries straight to the union. George Clooney told Deadline it would amount to $150M in 3 years. The union can then use that to help actors in need. The A listers also suggested a bottom-up residual structure, where actors making the least money would get paid residuals first and those at the top would get their residuals last. This is definitely a generous offer by these powerful actors, but will this actually help speed up the negotiations? Also it’s worth noting that Deadline says “many see this as virtual signaling” and that it won’t help people right now. So what do you think? Generous offer or hollow gesture? 🪧
Apple has abruptly canceled The Problem With Jon Stewart over creative differences… Big shocker as production was set to begin on season 3 in just a few weeks. Reports say that Apple pushed back “on proposed topics relating to China and artificial intelligence,” as well as certain guests. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea for Stewart to bring this type of show to a tech giant? Hopefully he sets up shop somewhere else, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Stewart retired from television altogether after this. 😮
Killers of the Flower Moon eyes $20-25M opening… If you thought Oppenheimer suddenly meant every 3-hour historical drama from a prestige director would make a billion dollars — you are mistaken. Apple spent at least $200M on the new Scorsese pic, but that might just be for awards and subscriber growth, because with these numbers, it might not recoup in theaters. 🤔
Deadpool 3 reportedly vacating its May 3, 2024 release date… Deadline is now reporting what was plainly obvious from Shawn Levy’s recent Wrap interview. No new date yet, but this could certainly shift back all of Marvel’s plans. It will also be the first time in 15 years Marvel didn’t have a movie kicking off summer season the first weekend in May. 📆
The Marvels tracking for $75M-$80M opening now… OK, that’s a bit better but probably still lower than Marvel would like. I wonder if that number will go up as the release comes closer and Disney floods the zone with marketing. 👀
Kit Harrington teaming with Mark Gatiss on adaptation of ghostly Sir Arthur Conan Doyle short story… It’s like more Sherlock, but not. I’ll take it anyway! 👻
Adam Sandler paused a recent show to help someone in the crowd having a medical emergency… What a guy. ❤️
Gen V renewed at Amazon for second season… Death taxes and superheroes. ↪️
There’s a new extended trailer for Poor Things… Do you want to see what this movie is really like? ▶️
What’s new
Neon — Oct 19 | Netflix music comedy series | Ⓜ️
Killers of the Flower Moon — Oct 20 | Martin Scorsese film in theaters | Ⓜ️ 91
Returning: Big Mouth s7, Upload s3, Bosch: Legacy s2, Fear the Walking Dead s8
What to watch
Trailer: Anyone But You — Dec 22 in theaters
Directed by Will Gluck, written by Gluck and Ilana Wolpert, starring Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, Darren Barnet, and Rachel Griffiths.
Hats off to Sony, who, with one trailer, has managed to turn an obviously cliché romcom into a whole ass mood. If you can’t think of at least 3 examples of romcoms featuring “enemies pretending to be lovers,” you might not be from this planet. This shit goes back to Shakespeare. But what Sony marketing has so cleverly done is obfuscate the cliché and the corny (two staples of the romcom genre) behind sizzle, sex appeal, and saucy music. It just works and will probably sell a lot of tickets (if Sweeney and Powell can actually promote the movie, if not it might be D.O.A.) All that said, this trailer is also a bit confusing and I’m worried it might be setting up the audience for something this movie is not. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great trailer, but it’s borrowing a bit of “intrigue” from the thriller and action genres, and as far as I can tell, this is actually a pretty straightforward romcom. I mean, if you added in a couple of firearms and some sweeping kicks, this basically becomes Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Will audiences be expecting something more tense and thrilling? We shall see. What this all really speaks to is how hard it is to market a comedy these days, so I’m not surprised Sony steered away from it.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!