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The Audience as Asset, Not Just as Viewers

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  We’ve seen a lot of shifts in the entertainment industry over the last decade. As everything has moved towards digital access and monetization, the role of the audience is now more important than ever. No longer are they just viewers, but an active asset that young filmmakers are using to sell their pitches, as we saw recently with Backrooms . Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., looks a little deeper.                                                                          Brandon Blake Part of the Pitch Film financing has always been a complicated thing. However, in an era where every variable is expected to be measurable, that moves the eyes on the screen into an asset of their own. Being able to arrive with a built-in audience may well be the leverage between a success...
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Peacock Launches Ad-Free Offerings on YouTube Primetime

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  If you were hoping to access Peacock’s Ad-Free tier through YouTube, you’re in luck, as YouTube honors part of its 2025 distribution deal with NBCUniversal with a new launch. Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer with Blake & Wang P.A., has the full story.                                                                       Brandon Blake Peacock Premium Plus Now Available on YouTube The deal will now see Peacock Premium Plus available as part of YouTube’s Primetime Channels, the culmination of last October's deal between the two companies. It came on the heels of a rather contentious renegotiation battle that could have ended in a potential blackout.  This was one of several clashes YouTube faced last year, with Disney’s 15-day impasse possibly the most notable. Perhaps we can write them off as...
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Netflix Makes Major Inroads in the French Market

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  One year after Netflix announced a major new carriage deal with TF1, the French broadcaster, to fill out its live and on-demand libraries, we’re finally seeing it all go live. Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., is here to fill us in.                                                                        Brandon Blake   More to Watch, All in One Place At least, that’s what the campaign slogan for the launch wants to reassure us. Netflix is in the middle of an aggregation strategy at present (one that looks, honestly, a little like traditional pay TV), as its own way to broaden both the content on offer and its presence in its overseas territories. The idea being that viewers can watch TF1+ programs and live channels integrated directly into the standard Netflix environmen...
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Hollywood Seems Desperate for a Netflix Deal, but it Won’t Be Lionsgate

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  Since its failed bid for Paramount, it seems that Hollywood news is desperate to tie Netflix to another merger deal. First there were rumors about Roku, and now it’s Lionsgate. Netflix, however, isn’t interested, as Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., confirms.                                                                         Brandon Blake Stocks Surge on Merger Rumor Lionsgate shares certainly benefited from the rumors, seeing a 14% uptick until Netflix shot down the speculation in a rather blunt release. Ironically, since its early 2025 separation from Starz, Lionsgate has been struggling to recover its momentum. That said, however, it has performed well as an independent studio on the stock market since the split. However, despite some big franchises and valuable IPs ...
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A Box Office Packed with Records

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  It’s been another great weekend for the box office, with breakout hits Backrooms and Obsession both performing strongly, a great start for the latest Scary Movie title, and some success for Masters of the Universe . Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer with Blake & Wang P.A. has the news.                                                                            Brandon Blake A Great Relaunch for Scary Movie Despite having last hit cinema screens over a decade ago, Scary Movie managed a very credible $55M opening weekend domestically, enough to snag it the top spot in this week’s box office charts. It also took in an additional $50.5M from international territories for a global total of $105.5M. Behind it is Masters of the Universe , with $29.3M domestically and a further $25M internat...
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A24 Hits a Domestic Box Office First

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  A24, mostly known for its slate of highly successful indie titles, has a new feather to add to its cap, and very few saw this one coming. Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A., shares the exciting news.                                                                        Brandon Blake New Milestone While A24’s films often come with awards season praise and much interest, Backrooms’ breakout success is still something quite unusual for the company. Backrooms was expected to open at $20M in North America, which itself would have been a fantastic result for a film that cost under $10M to make in a co-financing deal.  However, it broke out in a big way, bringing in $81.4M domestically and $118M globally in just 6 days, giving A24 the best start in its 1.5-decade-long histo...
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Obsession Drives the Biggest Second-Weekend Spike in Modern Box Office Records

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  Overall, the Memorial Day weekend was far more successful for the box office than anticipated, but even among this stellar field, there’s one notable stand-out: Obsession . Brandon Blake, Entertainment Lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., has the success story to share.                                                                           Brandon Blake Low-Cost, Remarkable Performance In just under 2 weeks since its release, Obsession has managed to bring home $68M. That might not seem all that overwhelming until you consider that the film cost less than $750,000 to make, and was a debut picture for filmmaker Curry Barker. Over the Memorial Day weekend itself, the film saw a 39.4% uptick on its opening weekend, from just 2,615 theaters. Ordinarily, we only see second-week spikes like this at...
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