Did a $1M budget movie really just pull off $450M at the global box office?

Puck News founding partner and host of The Town, Matt Belloni, joins Jamie Patricof on Jamie’s List to dismantle the myth that "the movie theater is dead."

From the absurd profitability of low-budget hits to Spider-Man beating Avengers at the box office, Matt breaks down how Hollywood is looking at theatrical releases all wrong. Plus, they dive into the $111B Paramount-Warner Bros. merger delay, Larry Ellison’s $47B backstop, Netflix’s growth problem, and what a $500M modern studio model actually looks like.

Key Takeaways & Highlights

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Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman joins Jamie's List to take us inside the room for the most radical shift in the U.S. presidency in modern history.

In this episode, Maggie reveals what happened when she and Jonathan Swan sat down with Donald Trump in the Oval Office to fact-check their blockbuster new book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump. From the two-page "power list" comparing Trump to historical conquerors like Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and Attila the Hun, to how his administration made $2 billion in office, why "we are never going back to 1991," and what happens when an entire government operates without systemic guardrails.

In this episode of Jamie's List:
• The secret 2-page historical document Trump kept at the Resolute Desk
• Why Trump’s second term is completely "unrecognizable" from his first
• How the administration made $2 billion in office (and the crypto connection)
• Why there are almost zero internal guardrails left in Washington
• Will American politics ever "return to normal"? (Maggie’s definitive answer)

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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker sits down with Jamie Patricof on Jamie’s List for a candid, wide-ranging conversation on the future of American leadership, global diplomacy, and the state of the Democratic Party.

From his personal upbringing as an orphan at 17 to becoming a billionaire business leader and governor, Pritzker offers an unfiltered look at why America is losing the trust of its longest-standing global allies, where the Democratic Party’s messaging has gone wrong, and how economic divides are reshaping national politics.

In this episode, JB Pritzker covers:

• Why world leaders believe it could take "20 years to never" to restore America's international credibility

• His critique of the "billionaire class" and wealthy political leaders

• How the Democratic Party must rebuild its message around working families

• His personal story of overcoming family trauma, loss, and addiction

• Foreign policy, Middle East diplomacy, and state-level governance

Only members of Jamie's List get to join live on Zoom for exclusive access during conversations like this one. Apply here → https://www.jamieslist.com/upgrade

Tyler Denk was employee #2 at Morning Brew before it scaled to 4 million readers and got acquired by Business Insider. Then he built beehiiv — the platform now powering Jamie's List, along with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Time Magazine, and thousands of other creators.


On the day beehiiv dropped a wave of new product launches, Tyler joined me to talk about all of it — including why he thinks Substack's business model is straight up predatory (he didn't hold back), what the creator economy actually looked like on the ground at Cannes Lions this year, and whether AI is coming for newsletter writers next.


We covered the origin story of beehiiv, the Amazon-vs-Shopify philosophy behind creator platforms, why he publicly lists every investor who passed on him, and his honest take on where AI fits into content creation. Plus — he actually gave me some real advice on Jamie's List by the end.


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"I'm not in this to be a great Democrat. I'm in this to save my country." — Senator Cory Booker

Host Jamie Patricof sits down with U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) for an unscripted, deep-dive edition of Lunch with Jamie. Recorded live at Rita House in Los Angeles, this wide-ranging conversation dives past standard partisan talking points to confront the growing crisis of isolation, cynicism, and institutional corruption in modern America.

Senator Booker pulls back the curtain on his historic, record-breaking 25-hour continuous floor speech on the Senate floor. He reveals the brutal physical toll of dehydrating himself to outlast segregationist Strom Thurmond's 1957 record, the emergency room doctor who watched over him from the gallery, and the massive wave of over 330 million likes on TikTok that proved the public was hungry for a moral stand.

They break down the core virtues of his new book, Stand, and outline an ambitious, bold vision for an "American Renewal" heading into the general election and the 2028 landscape.



Key Topics in This Episode:

The 25-Hour Senate Stand: The unseen logistics behind breaking the longest continuous speech record in Senate history.

The Post-Truth Era: How to navigate a fractured media landscape and fight back against the normalization of public corruption in all three branches of government.

Foreign Policy Disasters: Why Cory views the administration’s handling of Iran and pulling the rug out from humanitarian aid in Sudan as colossal modern failures.

The Black-Jewish Alliance: An uncompromising look at rising anti-Semitism in America and the urgent need to preserve historic, cross-cultural coalitions.

The 2028 Bench: Facing the reality of the next presidential cycle, his personal family plans, and the deep "Swiss Army Knife" bench of the Democratic Party.

Diners & Local Roots: Why a classic Jersey diner is a supreme cultural institution (and why Cory has never been to Razza or Belmont Tavern).



Get Cory Booker's new book, Stand, available everywhere now:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250436737



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"Californians are pissed and angry, and they feel like the system isn't working for them."

The primary results are rolling in, and a political shockwave is hitting the Golden State. In this special roundtable edition of Lunch with Jamie, we bypass the standard post-election spin to bring you an unfiltered, deep-dive breakdown of California’s most chaotic election cycle ever.

Host Jamie Patricof sits down with four of the state’s most formidable political minds and investigative journalists to figure out exactly what happened—and what it means for the high-stakes general election matchups in November.

Our Expert Panel Includes:
• Jessica Yellin (Founder, News Not Noise)
• Julia Wick (Co-Founder, LA Material & former LA Times City Hall reporter)
• Alex Cohen (Award-winning Anchor & Reporter, Spectrum News)
• Fernando Guerra (Professor of Political Science & Founding Director of the Study of LA at LMU)

Together, they pull back the curtain on the surprising progressive and conservative duels, the unexpected celebrity surge of Spencer Pratt in the L.A. mayoral race, a shifting betting market, the devastating loss of major institutional media endorsements, and the silent crisis threatening local legacy journalism.

Key Topics Explored in This Episode:
• The Electorate's Rebellion: Why widespread anti-establishment frustration is driving unexpected Republican surges and progressive sweeps simultaneously.
• The Spencer Pratt Phenomenon: How a reality TV star hijacked the national media landscape to shake up the L.A. Mayor race.
• The Media Vacuum: The real-world consequences of the LA Times halting candidate endorsements and why local debates are quietly vanishing.
• The Runoff Map: Early predictions for the high-stakes battles for Governor, City Attorney, and the critical congressional seats that could flip the House.

12 Candidates. 150 Minutes. No Spin. California is at a tipping point. With one week left until the primary, we pulled together 12 of the state's top Democratic candidates on 72 hours' notice for a rapid-fire, unscripted forum.

If you are overwhelmed by social media noise and standard political talking points, this episode is your ultimate election cheat sheet.

Jamie Patricof and co-host Matt Littman grill the candidates running for everything from Governor to L.A. Mayor to U.S. Congress. We enforce strict time limits and demand real, actionable answers on California's biggest crises: runaway film production, the insurance exodus, the cost of living, and the fight to flip the House.

Do not vote until you watch this.



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In this episode of Jamie’s List, Jamie Patricof sits down with independent journalist Aaron Parnas to uncover a remarkable story of transition and media saturation.

Aaron sharing his family's perspective during the initial invasion of Ukraine caused him to explode from a practicing lawyer into a digital media powerhouse with over 1 million followers in just one week.

But overnight influence comes with an unexpected psychological price tag.

Aaron takes us behind the scenes of his 24/7 home tracking war room—where he constantly monitors C-SPAN, live tickers of world leaders, and breaking court records —and opens up about the deep "numbness" required to survive the modern 24/7 news cycle.

In this episode, we dive deep into:

The 1-Week Meteoric Rise: How a practicing lawyer shifted overnight into an independent media operator.

Inside the Data Setup: A look at the intense multi-screen home operation beating legacy networks to the punch.

The Cost of Numbness: An honest conversation on desensitization and managing mental health under constant trauma exposure.

The Hidden Epstein Files: Firsthand insights from analyzing hundreds of thousands of hidden pages.

The Unseen AI Crisis: The silent, localized pollution threats driving the sudden rise of massive tech data centers.


"I unfortunately am in the position now where I'm so numb to everything in this world... it's the only way I can continue doing it." — Aaron Parnas


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How do you take on the highest office in the land and win?

In this episode of Lunch with Jamie, I sit down with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a man who has become a primary standard-bearer for state sovereignty. From the "Rise of the AGs" during Trump 1.0 to filing his 67th lawsuit against the current administration, Bonta explains why the state attorney general’s office is now the front line of American democracy.

Attorney General Bonta and I discuss:
• The "Rise of the AGs": How state attorneys general became a visible, high-speed force for national policy.
• Militarization of the Streets: The inside story of blocking the federalized National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles.
• The Corporate Battlefield: Why the Paramount/Warner Brothers merger is not a "done deal" and the massive antitrust win against Ticketmaster/Live Nation.
• The People’s Champion: Managing a $1.3 billion budget and 6,000 employees to tackle everything from cold case rapes to climate change.
• Personal Foundations: Bonta’s journey from the Philippines and the UFW headquarters in La Paz to becoming the "People’s Attorney".

"We’re fighting back against the president who breaks the law... and we’re winning." — AG Rob Bonta

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What happens when the "standard" solutions to gun violence stop working?

Live from Jamie's List, Jamie Patricof sits down with Manuel "Manny" Oliver, the father of Parkland victim Joaquin Oliver and the creator of the powerful one-man show, GUAC.

In a conversation that goes far beyond the typical NRA debate, Manny explains why school shootings have become a "normalized" fact of American life and how we can use art to "slip the culture" and force real change. Proof of Impact: 19.9 Million Visits Manny’s "unconventional" activism is already cracking the code.

His Roblox gaming experience, designed to teach kids about preventing gun violence rather than participating in it, has reached a staggering 19.9 million visits. This is art that doesn't just ask for change—it builds it.

In this episode, we discuss:
• Beyond the NRA: Why the 400 million guns in America mean the problem is bigger than any one lobby.
• The "Reality" of Drills: How we’ve forced children to adapt to a broken system while politicians hide under tables.
• Slipping the Culture: Why theater and art can reach people that activists and lawmakers can't.
• The "Shield": The unique legal protection the gun industry holds and how to crack it.
• The One Simple Fix: Manny’s top priority for "Safe Storage" and why it shouldn't be a partizan issue.

"I am not a victim. I am a father. And this is a conversation that every American should have." — Manny Oliver

Only members of Jamie's List get to join live on Zoom for exclusive access during conversations like this one. Apply here → https://www.jamieslist.com/upgrade