Friday Five

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 / Landmanlandman-cast-members-salary-increases-demi-moore-ali-larter-1236942522/ Story 2 — The Hollywood Reporter / Paramount-WBD EUhttps://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 Maryproject-hail-mary-prime-video-release-date-1236972341/Story 5 — IndieWire / Markiplierfeatures/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-candyStory 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.

In this week's Friday Five, Greece is named country of honour at the 2027 Cannes Marché du Film (Screen Daily), the Directors Guild of America reaches a tentative four-year deal with major studios (Variety), “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” crosses $1 billion at the global box office (The Hollywood Reporter), NIVA launches a fan-facing tool to fight deceptive ticket resale as 20 states advance price cap legislation (Billboard), and “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” announces its final performances on Broadway and London's West End (Variety), alongside other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

In this week’s Friday Five: The Academy launches a global cinema recognition program (Screen Daily), Hasbro debuts an AI studio for licensed character experiences (The Hollywood Reporter), sports continues to dominate the TV upfront market (Variety), ad-supported streaming approaches half of all US subscriptions (The Hollywood Reporter), and Martin Scorsese joins an AI company as an adviser (Variety), alongside other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

In this week’s Friday Five: Western Alliance Bank’s Melanie Krinsky unpacks what makes indie films bankable (Media Services), Lionsgate adds its library to Movies Anywhere (Deadline), “Stranger Things” leads the 2025–2026 TV season rankings (Variety), Germany boosts production incentives and moves toward investment obligations (ScreenDaily), and “Obsession” delivers a record-breaking second-weekend box office surge (The Hollywood Reporter), alongside other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

In this week’s Friday Five: Spain celebrates a historic three-film presence in Cannes competition, Lionsgate’s “Michael” moves toward $1B worldwide, and we cover other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

In this week's Friday Five: UK and Ireland box office is forecast to rise 10%, UK and French unions launch a joint campaign at Cannes against long working hours, and we cover other key developments shaping the entertainment industry.

In this week’s Friday 5: SAG-AFTRA reaches a tentative four-year agreement with studios, and thousands of filmmakers call on the EU to safeguard cinema funding. We also cover other key developments shaping the entertainment industry this week.

In this week's Friday Five: “Michael” sets a new box office record with a $218.7m opening weekend, The CW announces major streaming deals with ESPN and Roku, and more key developments shaping the entertainment industry.