Entertainment Lawyers

 Traditionally, the film industry saw appealing popular fare head to a default wide release, while more specialized, genre, and indie projects would seek out only limited runs. This dynamic seems to be shifting fast in Hollywood as we see more and more “specialty” projects conquer wide-release models. Industry expert from Blake & Wang P.A., entertainment attorney Brandon Blake, gives us some insight into this new development.                                                                                Brandon Blake A Year of Wide Releases In 2024 alone, we’ve seen Megalopolis , Conclave , The Apprentice , and now also The Substance opt for wide releases, even on short runs. Previously, these would have seen a Los Angeles and New York debut at best. In the case of The Substance , this is also a first for a niche streamer, MUBI. Its widest release before the nearly 2k screen debut for The Substance was Passages , which played in 114 theaters.   This shift to broad re

  In a year packed with box office milestones, another has fallen—this time, from a much unexpected source. The “little film that could,” It Ends with Us , has set its footprint in the record books. Our best entertainment attorney in Los Angeles from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, has the happy news to share.   Brandon Blake Top-Grossing Romantic Drama It Ends with Us is now the top-performing romantic drama since the 2018 edition of A Star Is Born . With its total global ticket sales now sitting at a hair under $310M, it may even unseat the latter film’s global total if it continues to hold strong. This puts the film ahead of films such as Crazy Rich Asians, The Fault in Our Stars, and Anyone but You . Sony’s latest push into attracting more female demographics to its movies seems to be paying off for them. A Social Success? Some of this success can possibly be attributed to its remarkable quirk of timing. Releasing shortly after a much-anticipated blockbuster lik

 The Toronto International Film Festival, finishing off a heady and booming 2024/25 market, has unveiled plans to launch its first-ever formal content market in 2026 alongside its traditional film festival program. This development marks a significant shift for TIFF, which has previously operated without an official bazaar for buyers and sellers. Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., has the exciting news for us.                                                                          Brandon Blake Broadened Offerings In a story that broke late last week, TIFF’s chief programming officer, Anita Lee, announced the festival’s intention to diversify its offerings and establish itself as a robust platform for launching and marketing films and facilitating their buying and selling. This is quite a change from older TIFF iterations. The new market aims to create opportunities for international companies, national promotion agencies, and emerging producers to part

 While the last-minute counter bid for Paramount Global has been withdrawn, leaving the proposed merger with Skydance Media (almost) guaranteed, plenty of challenges remain for the beleaguered Hollywood stalwart. Brandon Blake, our entertainment lawyer in the know from Blake & Wang P.A., has another update on Paramount’s turbulent journey to new ownership. Particularly, what this will mean for the Paramount+ platform.                                                  Brandon Blake The Streaming Question While Paramount+ has achieved a small profit in the direct-to-consumer unit and is projected to reach profitability for the full fiscal year 2025, the company is still exploring strategic options for the 68-million-subscriber service. Potential partners have reportedly expressed interest in joint streaming ventures. Skydance Media, now poised to acquire Paramount, remains optimistic about Paramount+’s long-term prospects but seems reluctant to discuss Paramount’s streaming f