Entertainment Lawyers

 There’s some good news (finally) for both Sony and Crunchyroll as we see one of the most successful anime openings to date from Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle . With all the details about this new win, we have Brandon Blake, the top entertainment law firm Los Angeles at Blake & Wang P.A.                                                                    Brandon Blake A New Record Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle saw a magnificent opening weekend, bringing in somewhere in the range of $70M over its opening weekend. This also earned it the 6th best opening for September, the best on record for an anime movie. It’s also the best opening Sony has seen in the last two years, as well as a first for Crunchyroll. It’s estimated that 4.5M people have seen the film to date.   It’s a particularly impressiv...

  Lionsgate Shareholders Weigh in on Looming Split from Starz As we approach the final formalities in the separation between Lionsgate and its Starz arm, we’ve finally seen regulatory processes close and the split head to shareholders for a final vote. With further details, we have entertainment lawyer Los Angeles , Brandon Blake, at Blake & Wang P.A.                                                                        Brandon Blake Overwhelming Investor Support During a special shareholders meeting last Wednesday, Lionsgate shareholders gave their overwhelming support to the planned split between the two entities. This will see Lionsgate rebrand as Lionsgate Studios Corp, and Starz reformed as Starz Entertainment Corp. Other necessary proxy resolutions, including the new board of director...

 The Chinese New Year box office has launched what may be the world’s next biggest animation success. As Ne Zha 2 continues to blow through local Chinese records, it’s also beginning to make its name on the global stage. Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer Los Angeles at Blake & Wang P.A., shares this exciting news.                                                                     Brandon Blake Bigger than Inside Out 2 ? It is thoroughly remarkable to be talking about global records around a film that has yet to release outside of the Chinese market. Ne Zha 2 will only open this week in North America, New Zealand, and Australia. However, with takings now topping $1.37B from its Chinese run alone, Ne Zha 2 has already knocked The Super Mario Bros. Movie out of its spot on the Top 3 animated films of...

  The pending spin-off of Starz assets from the Lionsgate brand may feel like it’s been in the news forever, especially as we see a flurry of preparatory licensing and deal-making between the two, but there does seem to be a date in sight. Finally! To share the news, we have Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A.                                                                     Brandon Blake   Spring (at the Earliest)   While the pending deal is still in regulatory review, Lionsgate CEO Jon Felthimer announced last week that they still believe they are on track to see the full separation in spring this year. It may even be as early as April.   There is a small delay currently, as the proxy needs to be updated with last quarter’s financials, which inevitably ad...

 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 ac...

Roku may be entering the Paramount arena, in a move precisely no one saw coming. It’s certainly a novel strategy — how do you take out 2 of your competitors in one? Buy the whole company! It’s not like bids for the ailing Paramount Group have been easy to find, after all. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney Brandon Blake has more on this interesting new development.                                                                       Brandon Blake It Started with Fubo Fubo was first mentioned as having an interest in the Paramount Group back when the protracted negotiations first began. It seems they’re not quite willing to let go of that hope, for all the Skydance Media bid seems set to be the final contender in the Paramount Race. Edgar Bronfman Jr., wearing his other hat as the Fortress Investment...

  Streaming profit has been the watchword of the last few years as Wall Street looked past mere subscription growth and started demanding balance sheets in the black. This kicked off a race to the top for most of the major streaming services, with Netflix, which was already fully in profit, the only service with breathing room. Disney+ can now join it. Our expert entertainment attorney Los Angeles USA, Blake & Wang P.A.’s Brandon Blake, brings this good news to the table.                                                                        Brandon Blake Beating Timelines Disney targeted streaming profits by the end of Q4 2024 or the first quarter of 2025. It has managed to beat its own time frame, mostly off the back of the astronomic performance of Inside Out 2 . They reported $47M in profit...

 If you have fond memories of scaling the couch (and siblings) as you flew to the kitchen for snacks during a TV movie commercial break, the latest takeaway from this year’s Upfronts might be right up your alley. Everyone else may be left a little annoyed- but the technology and market trends behind this “new” old development are interesting, at least. Our entertainment attorney Los Angeles in the know, Brandon Blake of Blake & Wang P.A. dives deeper into this new face for an old TV friend.                                                                         Brandon Blake Ad-Supported Expands to Movies With both Amazon and Netflix making their first in-person pitches to advertisers at this year’s Upfronts, we knew there was going to be a lot of focus on their TV slates. Seeing movies introduce...

  Paramount Global has to take the 2024 record for the most intriguing will-they, won’t-they debate we’ve seen in the M&A space. However, it looks like we could finally be seeing a serious deal on the table for a major stake in National Amusements, Paramount Global’s parent company. Could we be close to a real deal? Brandon Blake, for your entertainment industry law advice entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A. unveils the latest tantalizing details.                                                                           Brandon Blake A Skydance Deal It looks like the honor of taking over the Paramount mantle is set to go to Skydance Media chief, David Ellison, as has been widely anticipated. Both sides have now enacted a 30-day exclusive negotiation period to see if a fina...

 With Dune: Part Two having finally powered up the 2024 box office, it's time to build on that impetus if the wider box office recovery is to continue. There could be another strong contender lurking in the wings for this weekend’s releases- but it will doubtless surprise you to learn that this hope lies with the fourth installment of the animated Kung Fu Panda saga! Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney Los Angeles , Brandon Blake, has more on this ironic twist for us.                                                                          Brandon Blake Two $40M Grosses on the Cards For the first time since July 2023 and the Barbenheimer dual release, we have a chance at not one, but two, films grossing over $40M this weekend. In fact, those figures may top $50M! While Dune: Part Two...

  As streaming popularity goes, 2023 has been the year of Suits . While it’s rare indeed to see a show not currently in any production cycle gain such a stranglehold on viewership numbers, it seems there is at least one, more modern, rival to consider- Netflix’s The Fall Of The House Of Usher . Our Entertainment attorney Los Angeles Brandon Blake, of Blake & Wang P.A., looks at the figures. Brandon Blake Second Consecutive Week of Chart Dominance While no one is quite sure what has powered Suit’s indisputable dominance of this year’s Nielsen streaming charts, The Fall of the House of Usher managed to unseat it from No. 1 supremacy in the Oct 9-15 chart. Now, it’s kept that coveted No. 1 space for a second week on the Oct 16-22 charts, with an impressive 1.5B viewing minutes. This also represents a 19% increase in numbers from its initial Netflix debut. Since Suits first rose to its dominant place in the charts in June this year, that makes The Fall Of The House Of Usher on...

  A Rebrand is in the Works for Paramount Global It’s no secret that much of the growth in the streaming industry over the last year and a half has been driven by global-focused policies rather than the domestic market. With Paramount in the midst of a massive shakeup to their business, the news that a rebrand, as well as a shift in focus, for the Paramount international studios business is coming is no surprise. But what does the future hold for the changed service? Blake & Wang P.A entertainment attorney , Brandon Blake, breaks down what we know. Global Mindset, Local Execution High-end scripted content in a wealth of languages, created to drive growth for Paramount+, seems to be the name of the game for the refreshed face of Paramount Global. Replacing the ViacomCBS International Studio brand, Paramount’s business outside the US will now operate as Paramount Television International Studios, or PTIS. And they’re not shy about the intention to drive acquisitions and engagemen...

Ai is everywhere- or so it may seem. While much of the industry’s attention is on the direct impact of AI tools on aspects like video generation and copyright, there’s a more insidious side to consider- with the ever-present algorithm determining what stories get visibility and audience-reach, the stakes are rising. Brandon Blake , our entertainment attorney on the inside from Blake & Wang P.A, unpacks some key issues. The Data Conundrum While the hidden hand of catering to the ever present algorithm is most felt on social media, Hollywood is not free from its grasp either. In particular, viewership data- often played very close to the chest by individual platforms- suffers from something of a feedback loop created by recommendation engines in streaming services. Is human-first innovation dead? Not quite- but it may be in its demise, with what machines will let viewers see increasingly responsible for shaping… well, what viewers get to see in the first place. If algorithms, ...

  This year has been tough on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Since February, we’ve seen the HFPA undertake near-complete reform. This comes only after pressure from Golden Globes broadcaster, NBC, alongside other interested parties including Amazon, Netflix, and Warner Media. The issue? The organization has been accused of being anachronistic and severely lacking in diversity, with not one black journalist on the roll at the time. The issue reached a head when NBC canceled the 2022 Golden Globes in order to allow the HFPA time to reform. Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer , examines the new reformations for us.  Brandon Blake - The Entertainment Lawyer The enforced reformation hasn’t been without protests, of course. Primarily around the fact that all members had to reapply under new, strict criteria, including proof of active employment. This reapplication will need to happen every year, too. Rejected applicants hav...

                                                                                            Brandon Blake Amazon has canceled HBO Max subscriptions as of last week, as WarnerMedia leaves its bouquet of channels. Anticipating significant subscriber loss with the move, HBO Max has announced a dramatic price cut to head off the potential hemorrhaging. With such a major entertainment business move afoot, we asked entertainment lawyer Los Angeles and industry expert, Brandon Blake, to weigh in on the implications.  Amazon Prime Video subscribers accounted for just north of 5 million HBO subscribers, so this is no small shift. Will the lure of 50% off for the first 6 months be enough to entice these lost subscribers back, or at least to bring in replacements? ...

  If there’s a pandemic success story to celebrate, it has been the rise and rise of F9 . This week we see Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings surge to a surprising $70M opening, giving it an opening night that surpasses F9s . Will it be able to sustain the success? We asked Brandon Blake, L.A-based entertainment attorney , to weigh in on this strong opening. Brandon Blake It’s been a little over two years since we’ve had a full MCU movie release, and now within short months, we’ve seen 2 of the planned phase 4 films hit the circuit. While Black Widow had a same-day streaming release, Shang-Chi will be a theater exclusively for the next 45 days. It’s a strategy that wasn’t without debate, and Disney has been open in calling this- the first theatrical-only release since the beginning of the pandemic- an experiment. It’s a stance that has earned them some understandable kickback from the stars involved, but the movie does seem to ha...

Late August has never been the best time for the cinema circuit. Combined with day-and-date releases that bring premium titles to streaming immediately and the reared head of the delta variant, no one was expecting wonders from this weekend’s Box Office. Against this generally listless backdrop, however, Free Guy has delivered a surprisingly joyous performance. Brandon Blake , entertainment lawyer Los Angeles , dives deep into the figures for us. A $28.3M debut represented a surprising success for Free Guy , carrying on into a strong, if not exceptional, $14M performance over the next few days. A nearly $35M five-day marker is nothing to be sneered at. While the overall box office for the weekend of August 16-18 is still lagging behind the 2019 figures widely being used as benchmarks, the three new openers- Free Guy, Respect, and Don’t Breathe 2 - actually outperformed the new openers for the same 2019 weekend. Free Guy not only outperformed expectations but also brought in a 2.65x m...

As the streaming push into Latin America hots up, we see NBCUniversal-owned Telemundo Enterprises, perhaps the best-known Spanish-language media company currently operating, launch a new development division for Peacock and other NBC-owned properties. There’s already an ambitious slate of 50 projects lined up for 2022, and more beyond. Entertainment lawyer Los Angeles Brandon Blake analyzes what this could mean for the industry in general. The division will launch as “NBCUniversal Telemundo Hispanic Streaming”, under the watchful eye of Romina Rosado as GM and executive VP. They move over from their role as executive VP of Entertainment and Content Strategy at Telemundo itself. Their remit is to further the Spanish content slate for the network, across telenovelas, unscripted content, comedy, and drama, alongside bolstering the other new edition to the Telemundo house- Telemundo Streaming Studios. Launched in May, these two new divisions are intended as a production hub for the langu...