The Hollywood Reporter

heat index

Mike Hopkins The former Sony TV exec lands the top job overseeing Amazon Studios and Prime Video, reporting directly to CEO Jeff Bezos. Barbara Broccoli/Michael G. Wilson The James Bond producers miss with side project The Rhythm Section, a $50 million budgeted thriller that has grossed just $5 million in two weeks of release. Courtney Kemp Starz taps the Power showrunner to executive produce three offshoot shows as the flagship wraps its run Feb. 16 after six seasons. Guy Ritchie The director’s star-studded STX actioner The Gentlemen stands at just $60 million worldwide after rolling out in the U.S. and multiple territories in January. Showbiz Stocks $10.54 (+2.3%) LIONSGATE (LGFA) Strong subscriber growth at Starz and a Knives Out sequel announcement help quell prior concerns about Lionsgate’s performance. $42.74 (-10.7%) WWE (WWE) The company’s stock takes a dropkick after it says Feb.…

parasite’s ‘revolutionary’ oscars: a ‘game-changer’ for film business

On Jan. 5, Parasite writer-director-producer Bong Joon Ho gave his acceptance speech for foreign-language film at the Golden Globes and entreated the audience, via his translator Sharon Choi: “Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” A month later, the South Korean movie obliterated conventional wisdom with four historic Oscar wins, becoming the first non-English-language film to claim best picture. International filmmakers and distributors are now eying Bong’s triumphs with hope and hunger: hope that Parasite’s success will open the door to global cinema, giving other non-English-language movies shots at the world’s No. 1 film award; hunger for the sort of global box office returns that, with few exceptions, have been beyond the reach of films made outside Hollywood. “It’s been…

is at&t setting up a sibling rivalry at warners?

It says something about the state of the industry that the announcement of Warner Max, a “unique joint venture” that will produce up to 10 movies a year for the HBO Max streaming service, was not greeted with joy in the town. A customer for up to 10 movies a year would seem like a blessing at a time when it’s harder than ever to get a green light for anything other than a comic book movie or sequel, but instead executives, agents and producers reacted to what appears to be an opaque structure and possibly an exercise in misdirection. “It does seem like too many people on a press release screwing in a light bulb,” says one executive with long-standing ties to the Warners film studio. The Warner Max announcement Feb.…

‘we just felt like the movie was being misunderstood’

The Hunt, the satirical thriller that depicts “elites” kidnapping and then hunting “deplorables,” is now set for release March 13 after Universal pulled the film from its September opening in the wake of mass shootings that shook the nation. Following those attacks, Universal and producer Jason Blum decided to pause the ad campaign for the film. But after THR and other outlets reported on the film’s premise, it generated instant controversy. Fox News pilloried the concept, and the movie was attacked (though not by name) in a President Trump tweet. Now Universal is going to release and market the film with attitude: A one-sheet reads, “The most talked about movie of the year is one that no one’s actually seen,” with its original release date crossed out and blurbs highlighting news…

behind the headlines

BILLBOARD HOT 100: The week’s most popular current songs, across all genres, ranked by audience impressions, sales data and streaming activity by online music sources tracked by Nielsen Music. BILLBOARD 200: The week’s most popular albums across all genres, as compiled by Nielsen Music, based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums). Box office source: Comscore; estimates in $ millions; () Weekends in release; *Territories. Broadcast source: Nielsen, live-plus-3, week of Feb. 3. Cable TV source: Nielsen, live-plus-3 scripted series.…

behind warner music group’s ipo: why now, and what’s next?

Deal of the Week The last time Warner Music Group went public, in 2005, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page played the guitar riffs from “Whole Lotta Love” during the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. What will WMG do for an encore this time — and why now? WMG’s Feb. 6 filing for an IPO came as Wall Street analysts project that the music industry will double in size over the next 10 years, thanks in part to streaming’s rejuvenating effect. The Dec. 31 sale of a 10 percent stake in Universal Music Group to Chinese conglomerate Tencent valued the industry-leading music company at $34 billion, and given that valuation and WMG’s comparative revenues, Billboard estimates that the latter company is worth $10 billion to $16 billion. Regardless of the exact valuation,…