Why almost no movies are making money right now

And the Grammy nominees are...

What to know

• No Time to Die is the year’s highest grossing movie, but it could still lose millions… If you want to understand the current state of affairs in Hollywood, look no further than this Variety analysis. “Almost no movies are making money right now” writes Rebecca Rubin. We might think we’re on the other side of the pandemic, but the reality is it’s still roiling the movie business. What’s so ironic is the studios had to release its tentpoles to keep theaters alive — knowing that they would lose money theatrically. 😱

• And the Grammy nominees are… Come get your Grammy nominations! Of note: Jay-Z became the most nominated artist of all time, WandaVisions, Dune, and Bo Burnham are representing, and of the musical theater nominees only one is currently on Broadway! 🏆

• Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to stream live on Peacock for the first time… The future of live events is already here. Hopefully this stream goes smoother than CBS/Paramount+’s Tonys debacle. 🦃

• Hayao Miyazaki is returning to Studio Ghibli for one last movie… what a gift to animation fans! It’s hard to understate how big of a deal this is. 🇯🇵

• Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck to star in scripted Looney Tunes podcast series… wait, what would an unscripted Looney Tunes podcast sound like??? 🎙

• Moody trailer teases new fresh prince of Bel-Air… his life got flip turned upside down and under water apparently 👑

• Hulu bringing back Black Friday 99¢ a month deal… a Disney discount? In this economy? 💵

• Paul Thomas Anderson says movies should be two hours… he’s a wise man, that Paul Thomas Anderson ⏰

• Euphoria returns for season 2 Jan. 9, trailer reveals… the feel-bad teen drama of 2019 is back 📺

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For more pop culture news, discussion, and what-to-watch recommendations subscribe to my pals over on the Kickball Friends podcast. 🎙

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What’s new this week:

• Jonas Brothers Family Roast — Nov 23 Netflix comedy special | 🍅

• Hawkeye — Nov 24 Disney+ Marvel series | 🍅 87%

• True Story — Nov 24 Netflix drama series with Kevin Hart | 🍅 57%

• House of Gucci — Nov 24 in theaters drama film | 🍅 66%

• Encanto — Nov 24 in theaters Disney animated musical | 🍅 93%

• The Beatles: Get Back — Nov 25 Disney+ music doc series | 🍅

• South Park: Post Covid — Nov 25 Paramount+ animated special | 🍅

• 8-Bit Christmas — Nov 25 HBO Max holiday comedy movie | 🍅

• How to With John Wilson s2 — Nov 26 HBO Max comedy series | 🍅

• Licorice Pizza — Nov 26 limited theaters drama film | 🍅 92%

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What to watch:

Apologies to musical haters, but it’s turning into a theme week here in the “what to watch” section — and that theme is musicals. For about 20 years now, Broadway has been chock full of self-referential musical pastiches. It seemed like every new show had to include a parody of the marching from Les Mis. Most of those song-and-dance send ups like Urinetown and Spamalot have yet to find their way over to the screen, but Apple’s Schmigadoon! is more than ready to fill the void. Created by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul, this charming 6-episode musical comedy series is a pitch perfect pastiche of the big movie musicals of the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s — with dashes of Pleasantville and The Truman Show thrown in. Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong aptly play a modern couple on the verge of splitting up who are forced to face themselves after getting magically stranded in an old-timey musical town. Fans of the genre will enjoy the overt and covert references to Oklahoma!, The Music Man, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and more. The exact style of those classic movies is beautifully recreated and homaged by director Barry Sonnenfeld. But even if you’re not a musical lover, Schmigadoon! does its best to invite you in through Key, who serves as an audience proxy. It’s also got real comedy cred and plenty of jokes abound in its lyrically dense songs and comic situations (Bowen Yang and Julie Klausner are among the show’s writers). If you’re looking for a quick, fun, big hearted watch to entertain your family with this holiday weekend, you could do a whole lot worse than Schmigadoon!

For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!