Friday Five

This week, we introduce Mike Check, a new newsletter from Cast & Crew’s Michael Consiglio exploring the stories, history, and ideas shaping entertainment. Then: Sony Pictures Networks India brings TV and streaming closer together, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” reaches a historic box-office milestone, MLB teams create new ways to engage fans, and Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner move toward acquiring the Los Angeles Lakers. Five stories, five minutes. Take five with us.

Resources:

• Story 1 — LinkedIn / Mike Check

  https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/mike-check-7493747764669956097/ 

• Story 2 — Deadline / Sony Pictures Networks India

  https://deadline.com/2026/08/sony-pictures-networks-india-slate-streaming-tv-strategy-1237030106/ 

• Story 3 —Variety / “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”: $700 Million Box Office

  https://variety.com/2026/film/news/spider-man-brand-new-day-700-million-domestic-box-office-1236833812/ 

• Story 4 —AP News / Creative Fan Engagement for MLB Teams

  https://apnews.com/article/mlb-regalos-f8888307b3e44c37dc25a7749db17623 

• Story 5 — Hollywood Reporter / Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner Acquire LA Lakers

  https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/lakers-to-be-sold-to-bob-iger-and-joshua-kushners-firm-1236672013/ 

In this week’s Friday Five, we look at Martin McDonagh’s upcoming Zurich Film Festival honor and what it says about the global film landscape. Then: Paramount’s Warner Bros. takeover clears a key UK review, Sombr shares his approach to building a new kind of pop career, Bowen Yang makes his Broadway debut in “Oh, Mary!”, and Rush revisits their legacy in a new documentary. Five stories, five minutes. Take five with your weekly #FridayFive.

Resources:

• Story 1 — Hollywood Reporter / Zurich Fest to Honor Director Martin McDonagh

  https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/zurich-fest-martin-mcdonagh-career-honor-wild-horse-nine-1236665704/ 

• Story 2 — Variety / It’s Sombr Summer

  https://variety.com/2026/music/features/sombr-body-image-pop-stardom-interview-1236826139/ 

• Story 3 — Deadline / Paramount’s Takeover Of Warner Bros. Cleared By UK Authorities

  https://deadline.com/2026/08/paramount-takeover-of-warner-bros-cleared-uk-1237027545/ 

• Story 4 — Vulture / Bowen Yang Will Star in “Oh, Mary!”

  https://www.vulture.com/article/bowen-yang-oh-mary-casting-interview.html 

• Story 5 — Rolling Stone / Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple

  https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/geddy-lee-alex-lifeson-neil-peart-documentary-1235604273/ 

This week, we kick off with Ann-Marie Fitzgerald on Beyond the Budget, breaking down what running production finance on “Ted Lasso” really looks like. Then: Bangkok's new content market logs $65 million in its debut, HBO Max rolls out AI-powered shorts and conversational search, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" marks 10 years in the West End, and the TV Academy and NATAS explore reunifying after a 50-year split. Five stories, five minutes. Take five with us.

Resources:

• Story 1 — Beyond The Budget / Running Production Finance on “Ted Lasso”

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-TBAeanZ6w

• Story 2 — Variety / Bangkok International Content Market Debuts With $65M in Deals

  https://variety.com/2026/film/news/bangkok-international-content-market-bicm2026-debut-1236822514/

• Story 3 — Hollywood Reporter / HBO Max Launches AI-Powered Shorts

  https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/hbo-max-shorts-vertical-video-new-ai-driven-features-1236658099/

• Story 4 — Variety / “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” Celebrates 10 Years

  https://variety.com/2026/theater/news/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-10-years-west-end-1236824082/

• Story 5 — Deadline / TV Academy & NATAS Begin Exploratory Reunification Talks

  https://deadline.com/2026/07/tv-academy-natas-reunification-talks-emmys-1237004363/
  

In this week's Friday Five, Sony Pictures officially confirms it's restoring LA's Cinerama Dome targeting a 2028 reopening, (IndieWire), France's National Film Board ties funding to gender parity targets (Variety), BAFTA expands its Outstanding British Film Longlist (Screen Daily), the World Cup final sets an all-time US ratings record (Deadline), and "The Daily Show" debuts its first microdrama (The Hollywood Reporter), alongside other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

Resources:

• Story 1 — IndieWire / Cinerama Dome in Hollywood to Reopen

  https://www.indiewire.com/news/breaking-news/cinerama-dome-reopen-sony-pictures-alamo-drafthouse-1235206585/ 

• Story 2 — Variety / France's Film Board to Cut Funding Over Gender Equality Failures

  https://variety.com/2026/film/global/frances-national-film-board-reduce-fund-fail-gender-equality-1236818050/ 

• Story 3 — BAFTA to Expand Longlist

  https://www.screendaily.com/news/bafta-tweaks-film-voting-rules-expands-longlist-in-key-categories/5218813.article 

• Story 4 — Deadline / World Cup Final Nearly 63M Viewers

  https://deadline.com/2026/07/world-cup-final-scores-ratings-fox-telemundo-1236999839/ 

• Story 5 — The Hollywood Reporter / ‘The Daily Show” Debuts First Microdrama

  https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/the-daily-show-first-microdrama-1236652665/

In this week's Friday Five, movie theaters are having their best year since the pandemic as unconventional hits like "Project Hail Mary," "Michael," and "Obsession" prove original stories can be blockbusters (Variety), New York's film and TV production spend surges 57% to nearly $1.06 billion while California holds its number one spot after doubling its incentive program (The Hollywood Reporter), the 2026 ESPY Awards deliver a night of joy and history as the Knicks celebrate their championship, Marcello Hernández becomes the first Latino ESPYs host in 25 years, and Robin Roberts presents a posthumous Arthur Ashe Courage Award to NBA trailblazer Jason Collins (ABC News), the Daytime Emmy nominations give soap fans plenty to cheer as "The Young and the Restless" tops the leaderboard for a third consecutive year (TVLine), and Madonna scores her 10th number one album on the Billboard 200 with "Confessions II," a triumphant return to the dance floor two decades after the original "Confessions on a Dance Floor" (Billboard), alongside other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

Resources:

• Story 1 — Variety / Box Office Rebound

  https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/movie-theaters-rebound-box-office-obsession-project-hail-mary-1236810214/

• Story 2 — The Hollywood Reporter / NY-CA Production Spend

  https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/new-york-film-tv-spend-california-production-1236649240/

• Story 3 — ABC News / 2026 ESPYs

  https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/2026-espys-best-moments-sports-biggest-night/story?id=134809703

• Story 4 — TVLine / Daytime Emmy Nominations

  https://www.tvline.com/2214043/2026-daytime-emmys-nominations-full-list-nominees/

• Story 5 — Billboard / Madonna's Confessions II

  https://www.billboard.com/lists/madonna-confessions-ii-number-one-billboard-200-chart/
  

In this week's Friday Five, the 2026 Emmy nominations are in, with "The Pitt" leading the most nominations at 25 and "Hacks" setting a comedy series record in its final season (Variety), Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" holds its world premiere in London, opening in theaters July 17 (The Hollywood Reporter), Denis Villeneuve and Timothée Chalamet drop a new "Dune: Part Three" trailer at a global IMAX event simulcast across eight cities, ahead of the film's December 18 release (Deadline), Sky announces a £1.6 billion takeover of ITV to create a British streaming champion in the most significant consolidation of UK media in a generation (The Wrap), and the second trailer for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" becomes the second biggest trailer debut of all time with over 500 million views, ahead of the film's July 31 release (Deadline), alongside other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

Resources:

• Story 1 — Variety / Emmy Nominations

https://variety.com/2026/tv/awards/emmy-nominations-the-pitt-hacks-pluribus-widows-bay-1236802863/

• Story 2 — The Hollywood Reporter / ‘The Odyssey’ Premiere

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/the-odyssey-premiere-london-film-nolan-holland-zendaya-1236638693/

• Story 3 — Deadline / ‘Dune: Part Three’ Trailerhttps://deadline.com/2026/07/dune-part-3-trailer-character-posters-1236756805/ 

• Story 4 — The Wrap / Sky-ITV

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/deals-ma/sky-buys-itv-media-entertainment-unit-2-billion-deal/

• Story 5 — Deadline / ‘Spider-Man’ Trailer

https://deadline.com/2026/06/spider-man-brand-new-day-second-trailer-record-1236968469/

In this week's Friday Five, the original cast of “Landman” secures rare mid-run salary renegotiations ahead of Season 3, reflecting the show's status as Paramount+'s biggest hit (Deadline), Paramount submits concessions to the European Commission — agreeing to exit its Universal distribution joint venture — to clear its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (The Hollywood Reporter), Fox's 2026 World Cup coverage more than doubles its 2022 audience, with the USMNT's win over Paraguay setting the record for the most-watched World Cup telecast in English-language US history (The Hollywood Reporter), “Project Hail Mary” heads to Prime Video following a 105-day theatrical window, one of the longest studio commitments to exclusive theatrical exhibition in years (Deadline), and Markiplier's Hollywood journey — six months after his self-distributed film “Iron Lung” grossed $50 million worldwide — offers a window into how YouTube-born films are reshaping where studios look for talent and IP (IndieWire), alongside other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

Resources:

• Story 1 — Deadline / Landman

landman-cast-members-salary-increases-demi-moore-ali-larter-1236942522/ 

• Story 2 — The Hollywood Reporter / Paramount-WBD EU

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/paramount-to-exit-uip-to-win-eu-approval-for-warner-merger-1236634547/

• Story 3 — The Hollywood Reporter / World Cup Ratings https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/fox-world-cup-2026-pregame-show-ratings-1236632412/

• Story 4 — Deadline / Project Hail Mary

project-hail-mary-prime-video-release-date-1236972341/

• Story 5 — IndieWire / Markiplier

features/interviews/markiplier-hollywood-indie-film-youtube-loyalty-1235202783/

In this week's Friday 5, payroll accountants Candy Carstensen and Brad Rees join Beyond the Budget to discuss the production accounting behind “Grey's Anatomy” and the shift from paper timecards to digital workflows (Cast & Crew), Sony Pictures Entertainment makes a $100 million investment in Cosm, the immersive dome venue company, to expand experiential cinema (The Hollywood Reporter), the Academy invites its most diverse class of Oscar voters yet, with 529 new members including Jacob Elordi, Jenna Ortega, and new Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro (Deadline), Google's DeepMind unit partners with A24 in a $75 million deal to develop AI-powered filmmaking tools (Variety), and director Denis Villeneuve begins personally calling actors who have advanced to the next round of James Bond auditions, set for August (Deadline), alongside other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

Resources:

• Story 1 — Cast & Crew / Beyond the Budget: beyond-the-budget-brad-and-candy
• Story 2 — The Hollywood Reporter / Sony x Cosm: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sony-pictures-invests-cosm-dome-immersive-theaters-1236629509/
• Story 3 — Deadline / Academy Voters: jacob-elordi-josh-oconnor-jenna-ortega-529-new-oscar-voters-1236966297/
• Story 4 — Variety / Google x A24: news/google-a24-ai-filmmaking-tools-1236787297/
• Story 5 — Deadline / James Bond: james-bond-auditions-august-next-round-the-dish-1236964582/

In this week's Friday Five, Al Roker and Dete Meserve discuss the making of "Weather Hunters" (Media Services), "Toy Story 5" tracks for a $150 million-plus opening weekend that would set a 2026 box office record (Deadline), FX formalizes a new strategy debuting all its series simultaneously on linear TV and streaming, ending years of "FX on Hulu" confusion (Variety), Fox Corp. enters a definitive agreement to acquire Roku for $22 billion, combining live sports and news content with the leading connected TV platform (The Hollywood Reporter), and TIFF announces that more than 130 buyers from 49 countries have already confirmed attendance for its inaugural TIFF: The Market, running September 10–16 in Toronto (Screen Daily), alongside other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

In this week's Friday Five, Al Roker and Dete Meserve discuss the making of "Weather Hunters" (Media Services), "Toy Story 5" tracks for a $150 million-plus opening weekend that would set a 2026 box office record (Deadline), FX formalizes a new strategy debuting all its series simultaneously on linear TV and streaming, ending years of "FX on Hulu" confusion (Variety), Fox Corp. enters a definitive agreement to acquire Roku for $22 billion, combining live sports and news content with the leading connected TV platform (The Hollywood Reporter), and the BBC announces 550 job cuts and a $107 million reduction in commissioning spend as part of a sweeping three-year savings plan (The Wrap), alongside other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.