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Showing posts from November, 2024

Gladiator 2 Set for a Stellar Offshore Start

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  Despite being a two-and-a-half-decade-old franchise, it seems that Gladiator , the massive Roman epic by Ridley Scott, still has pulling power with modern audiences. After a spectacular international debut, the film will head to domestic screens this weekend. Brandon Blake, our entertainment lawyer Los Angeles and insider from Blake & Wang P.A., shares this success with us.                                                                            Brandon Blake Best Start for Ridley Scott Gladiator 2 opened in 63 international markets last weekend, with the US debut this coming weekend. It has accumulated almost $90M in its first weekend, aligning well with pre-release projections. Incidentally, this also makes it Ridley Scott's best overseas start as director.   Nor do Pa...

AFM at a Crossroads: Top Sales Agents Demand Los Angeles Return

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  The American Film Market is facing a pivotal moment as seven leading sales agencies demand its return to Los Angeles, threatening to create their own marketplace if the event remains in Las Vegas for 2025. Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A., unpacks this development for us.                                                                             Brandon Blake   The Las Vegas No-No   Despite an increased attendance of 5,500 at the Palms Casino venue, major industry players (including AGC Studios, Black Bear, FilmNation, and Lionsgate) expressed strong dissatisfaction with the new Las Vegas location. Complaints ranged from inadequate facilities to logistical challenges, with sources citing expensive equipment rentals and elevator delays disrupt...

Paramount+ Announces Upcoming Price Hike for the UK

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  Paramount+ is back on the offensive. While things have been quiet as the Paramount Global group recovers from the lengthy, drawn-out M&A process it entered earlier this year, we are finally seeing a resurgence of interest in further developing its streaming presence. They have recently announced two new tiers for the UK and Irish market to expand its current offerings. Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A., gives us more information.                                                                                   Brandon Blake   Two New Tiers   Unsurprisingly, Paramount+ will add a Basic tier, their name for the ad-supported offering. It will be priced at $6.45 (£4.99) for the UK and €5.99 in Ireland, which translates to the sam...

Who Is Spending the Most on Content?

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There’s a lot of money changing hands in the content market at present, but the data on how many firms are behind that spending may surprise you. With new data in-hand from Ampere Analysis, it’s clear that 6 key companies are driving most of the global content spend. Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., walks us through these revelations.                                                                       Brandon Blake 6 Companies Dominate In 2024 alone, we saw $126B in content spending originating from only six companies: Comcast, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Google, Paramount, and Netflix. This represents about 51% of the overall spend in this market, and about a third of it is invested in streaming. Disney alone accounts for 14% of the total global market. Surprisingly, Netflix only...

Are Indie Releases the Key to Attracting Older Demographics?

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  While the blockbuster slate for September and October has not really performed as we’d hoped, we’ve seen some fantastic performances (in their class) from specialty and indie releases of late. As we get stuck into the demographics for these films, one thing is surprisingly clear- they lean toward older demographics, the same people that have been reluctant to return to theaters in the wake of the pandemic closures. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney , Brandon Blake, takes a look at this fascinating revelation- and what it could mean for theaters domestically.                                                                              Brandon Blake   A Thriving Specialty Market   Despite the slightly lackluster performance of Venom: The Last Dance this wee...