Since neither Ella McCay nor Silent Night Deadly Night caught fire (and ash) this past weekend, we invited Greenlight Analytics Director of Insights & Content Strategy Brandon Katz to discuss (among other things) the whole “Netflix wants to buy Warner Bros.” situation beyond just what it does or doesn’t mean for theatrical cinema. Among the topics of discourse…

* The challenges with Hollywood still wanting to make “old-school movies” with little outside-the-bubble awareness of newer filmmakes and young(er) would-be movie stars, creating a reliance on decades-past-their-prime talent and decades-past-relevancy IP or (in terms of biopics) real-life historical figures.

* Whether Netflix’s attempt to buy Warner Bros. for all of its network television shows and previously theatrical movies is an admission that the streamer broke the system for making new monetizable favorites and now must overspend to get all of the comfort food created and released by its “out of touch” competition.

* Our favorite horror remakes, with an early-show conversation about the glories of Franz Oz’s Little Shop of Horrors and its original grimdark finale.

* The tragedy of a once-viable high concept flick like The Dust Bunny debuting to relative theatrical obscurity.

* Pre-release chatter about how Avatar: Fire and Ash might perform in relation to its predecessors both on opening weekend and (presumably) well into 2026.

* And more, including A) Jeremy’s deadpan hilarious response when asked if he has seen Ella McCay and B) what Steven Spielberg should have called Disclosure Day.

Recommended reading…

* Scott Mendelson explains how Wicked For Good became one of those big-deal sequels that’s viewed as a commercial disappointment only because it’ll only earn about what was (at best) expected from its over-performing predecessor.

* Jeremy Fuster offers a deep dive into India’s globally expanding theatrical footprint and its emerging issues, as seen in Hollywood, with a comparative “event movie or bust” mentality.

* Lisa Laman offered her preemptive picks for the most likely surprise hits and biggest bombs of 2026 (I, for one, have faith that WB’s animated remake of Funny Games might be a big hit) and runs down the few(er) and not-so-proud big mid-to-late December releases that tanked even amid the end-of-year holiday blitz. #Justice4MortalEngines and/or #Justice4PeterPan.

* Ryan Scott discusses IDW’s new imprint, IDW Dark, which will offer comic book expansions for ongoing theatrical horror franchises like Smile and A Quiet Place.

* Brandon Katz dug into a “favorite” topic of mine (and presumably yours, if you’re here), namely the commercial decline of the mid-budget “just a movie” movie.

If you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected] (which I finally fixed so that it’ll forward to my personal business email, natch).

* Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News

* Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap

* Lisa Laman - Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Comic Book and Autostraddle

* Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm and Fangoria

* Brandon Katz - Greenlight Analytics and The Observer

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