Hollywood Breakdown

Following the death of the iconic Alex Trebek, “Jeopardy!” featured a series of high-profile guest hosts. But the job of new host ultimately went to Mike Richards, the executive producer of the game show. Many fans are upset that someone like LeVar Burton wasn’t picked instead. And Richards has some red flags in his past — he was named in three discrimation lawsuits about a decade ago. 

The creators of “South Park” and Reese Witherspoon probably aren’t often discussed together, but both recently closed $900 million deals. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the “South Park” creators, signed a deal with ViacomCBS that runs through 2027 and guarantees 14 new “South Park” movies for the streamer Paramount+. Witherspoon’s company Hello Sunshine sold to an unnamed company run by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs.

Scarlett Johansson, star of “Black Widow,” is suing Disney over the release of the Marvel film. Johansson says Disney’s failure to give the movie an exclusive theatrical release was a breach of contract that cost her $50 million in box office bonuses. “Black Widow” opened in theaters and was available to stream on Disney+ for a $30 charge on the same day. Johansson’s lawsuit is likely just the beginning of a long battle between stars and movie studios over theatrical compensation in the streaming age.

In its most recent earnings report, Netflix shared that it gained 1.5 million subscribers around the world in the last quarter. However, that is a modest gain for the streaming giant, and it lost 400,000 subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. In a bid to stop viewers from canceling, Netflix plans to offer mobile video games. Meanwhile, HBO Max reported strong growth of 2.8 million new subscribers in the same period.

Marvel Studios’ superhero spy thriller “Black Widow” opened last weekend to the tune of $215 million in global revenue. Those earnings come partly due to the film’s dual release in theaters and on Disney+ the same day.  While the release initially appears to be a success, a closer look at variables like box office dropoff, multi-person viewing at home, and the pandemic amounted to a muddled narrative. It’s unclear what long-term effects this dual-release model has on the film industry. 

Japan has declared a state of emergency in Tokyo after a spike in coronavirus cases. This news comes as the Olympics are scheduled to begin there in two weeks. In an attempt to keep case numbers under control, Olympic organizers have banned almost all spectators from the games. The lack of in-person fans may well mean fewer viewers for the TV broadcast of the games, a big problem for NBC and its streaming service Peacock. 

The Directors Guild of America says awards eligibility for 2022 requires a film to once again have an exclusive theatrical release. Those rules were relaxed during the pandemic. The Academy says straight-to-streaming releases are still allowed. This is tricky for Warner Bros., which already announced all its films for this year will debut on HBO Max the same day they open in theaters, making none of their films eligible for DGA Awards.

The Olympics begin on July 23, but many in Tokyo say they’re not ready to host because Japan’s vaccination rate is still under 10%. The Olympics are critically important to NBCUniversal — the official broadcaster of the Games — and its streaming service Peacock. The streamer desperately needs new paying subscribers, but will Olympic Games with few fans on site and social distancing policies in place be enough draw?

Warner Bros. was hoping for a big summer hit with its movie adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical “In the Heights.” Instead, the movie fell below expectations and only made $11.4 million at the box office opening weekend. The lack of big stars could have kept people home, as well as the fact that the film was also streaming on HBO Max. 

News broke in May that AT&T would be spinning off WarnerMedia to Discovery and that David Zaslav would run the combined media empire, but that deal isn’t closing any time soon. The merger is subject to federal review, which could take a year or more. That leaves WarnerMedia awkwardly situated and without clear leadership in the midst of the streaming wars.