Posted on 01/01/2026 6:38:05 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
2025 began with the devastating fires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, which destroyed the homes of many in the industry and stymied production and livelihoods for others.
Then there were the ups and downs of the theatrical box office —
And, of course, there were the big industry shakeups. Just in this year, we saw the completion of the Paramount-Skydance merger followed by Paramount’s initial bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, and then the potential acquisition of Warner Bros.’ studios, HBO and HBO Max by Netflix.
About the only thing I can predict with certainty is that 2026 is going to be a busy year…
- It’s no surprise that the Warner Bros. deal is at the top of the list. Expect this saga to continue playing out in 2026…
- Walt Disney Co. is expected to name its new chief executive in early 2026, drawing to a close the most-speculated-about succession decision in Hollywood…
- After rattling many Hollywood executives over his company’s aggressive use of copyrighted images and likenesses, Sam Altman’s Open AI earlier this month reached a major licensing deal with Disney to use more than 200 characters in its text-to-video tool, Sora. Under the deal, Disney also agreed to invest $1 billion in the AI startup...
- This year, we saw the re-emergence of Saudi Arabia as a key funding source for Hollywood.
- There’s a slew of potentially big blockbusters slated for release, including Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros.’s “Dune: Part Three,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Doomsday,” Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 5.”
- The number of weekly permitted shoot days in the Los Angeles area was down 65% compared to the same week last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
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I fully expect more of the same idiotic dreck.
Lots of CGI for gen-z.
Thank God for Tom Cruise and “Maverick”, else it would have been decades since anything watchable.
How many homosexual preachfests are these?
Streaming services have changed the studio’s business model. Gone are movie theaters and dvd sales and rentals. Studio’s are no longer the price setter and it’s deeply effecting the old business model. Next is AI entertainment, goodbye actors and crew. Guess it’s time to turn out the lights in Hollywood.
The film industry has been bailing out of Hollywood and California for years. The trickle has now become a flood.
Gavin Newsom has finally realized he will be remembered as the governor who presided over the collapse of Hollywood.
Being a socialist, the only response he can think of is to try to bribe studios to return shoots to California.
Being a socialist, he will fail.
Whatever emerges as the successor industry will be healthier for the geographical cure. Part of “Hollywood’s” problem was an overconcentration big enough to support an extremely ingrown, toxic culture. Diversification will be painful for those with sunk costs in the emerging dead zone, but the industry will be better off in the long run. Whatever form it takes.
Make entertaining movies and shows that people actually want to see and money will be made. Content rules.
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