Stranger Things Finale Brought in $30 million in Two Days - And Actors Got None of It

Welcome to the Actor’s Guide to the End of the World Podcast, Episode 62! Hope you had a great holiday, E-Kan and Rían are ready to kick off the year with a bang… This week, Stranger Things Finale was a massive success making $30 million dollars in two days, yet gave it all to AMC. The craziest part is how the actors saw NONE of it… Then the guys dive into Disney's $1 billion dollar OpenAI partnership and how they’re planning on rolling out generative AI content on their platform. Are you ready for your kids to grow up with AI starting in infancy? E-Kan and Rían talk about its implications and what actors can do about it right now and what this means for upcoming contract negotiations. They also go into SAG-Aftra’s current AI protections. Are they strong enough? And is this as doomsday as it seems? Some creatives have not responded well to the news, including a Disney creator who called Bob Iger and Disney “fu**** ghouls” and told their fans “to unsubscribe” and “pirate my show”. E-Kan and Rían also do an honest check in- how their year REALLY was. Welcome to 2026 everyone, thanks for making us a part of your day and listening this year. New episodes every Monday, wherever you find your podcasts, and follow on all social media @actorsguidepodcast @ekansoong @riansheehykelly   LINKS: https://deadline.com/2026/01/box-office-stranger-things-finale-1236660176/ https://deadline.com/2025/12/stranger-things-finale-amc-adam-aron-1236659298/ https://deadline.com/2025/11/the-owl-house-creator-unsubscribe-disney-ai-content-1236619602/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/disney-openai-sora-investment-deal-1236448850/ https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/11/tech/disney-universal-midjourney-ai-copyright-lawsuit @sun.yi on New Years - https://www.instagram.com/p/DS7tysTDuOe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== @chadsand - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSIuUa-Em1T/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==   Hidden Gems:  Amazon's "Fall Out" Tv show Museums for All, free museum tickets program, Surrealism 100 at Philadelphia Museum of Art Time Stamps:  (00:00) Intro (01:10) New Years' Update (02:40) SAG-Aftra's W&W Meetings starting back up (03:11) Stranger Things Finale makes $30 Million in theaters (06:35) Disney creator slams Disney for making $1 Billion deal with Open AI (09:40) What are SAG-Aftra regulations on AI?  (11:40) Kids will grow up with AI (21:50) How was your year really? (26:10) Hidden Gems