☀️ 'Despicable Me' Dominates as '24 Box Office Crawls From GraveSKYDANCE gets PAR committee nod / Christine McCarthy resurfaces / APPLE, AMAZON series cancellations
Evenin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on SUNDAY, July 7, 2024. Where ya know, some say our tech titans have a tough time relating to the common folk, or are tone deaf to their own images . . . but I just don’t see it. Now, who wants to tell Zuck what his song choice of “Born in the U.S.A.” is actually about?
SHOCK: The town is still coming to grips with the death of Jon Landau from cancer at the age of 63 over the holiday weekend. He of course was James Cameron’s longtime producing partner and CEO at LIGHTSTORM Entertainment, following a successful run at the FOX studio. AWE: It looks like we’re actually getting closer to a PARAMOUNT deal, as the PAR “special committee” has agreed to . . . whatever deal SKYDANCE has put forth. Still not much known here other than the $1.75B check for Shari / NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS, up from $1.7B in the last round of this exercise.
BOOM: NBC & PEACOCK got 7.6M viewers for the 2-hour MACY’s Fireworks show on Thursday, its highest number in 3 years, and an event which . . . really had zero counter-programming.
AND: The ABC Biden interview got 8.5M viewers on Friday night, or less than 20% of the debate audience. Almost 8M of them were over 50 years old, and most 55+, by and large mirroring the demos of the debate. BUT: About half of England tuned in to watch the end of the ENGLAND vs. SWITZERLAND Euros ⚽️ quarterfinal match this weekend, peaking at 26M across linear and streaming for the penalty shootout (ENGLAND won). ALSO: Margot Robbie is having a baby! 🤰 The Ankler Mid-Year SaleOur 25% off sale happens only twice a year — and it expires at noon Monday. If you haven’t become a paid subscriber, we invite you spend your second half of the year the same way the smartest people in the business do: with The Ankler. Reminder, the offer is for first-time subscribers only and good only for annual subscriptions. ELSEWHERE: Other than an AI firm bringing the voices of dead celebrities like Burt Reynolds, Judy Garland and James Dean back to life for the noble cause of . . . “reading” you books by other people (you haven’t lived until you’ve had Burt read you The Bridges of Madison County), Hollywood thankfully was showing the world how to properly take a vacation, and of course go to the movies. So, here are a few more dispatches from rich folks to make us feel great coming back into work tomorrow. Er sorry, “people of means” (as they always tell the help, they hate the “rich” thing 🙄) FIRST: If Jeff Bezos owes you money, now’s the time to collect (I told him taking Yamamoto in the Nathan’s contest was a fool’s errand). He’s selling another $5B of AMAZON stock (shares hit an all-time high last week), making for $13.5B worth of AMAZON stock sales for him this year alone (he still has about 9% of the shares). Jeff, I’ll get that $30 🌭💰 when I see you at the club this week, and for the last time — I’m a cash business, so no, you can’t VENMO me later.
WHILE WE’RE AT IT: NVIDIA head Jensen Huang sold $169M worth of his shares in the company in June — following other NVIDIA employees who have sold $700M+ worth of shares in the first half of 2024.
BUT: It’s always refreshing to see the “Everyone’s an Expert” motif surface in other industries . . . as JP MORGAN parted ways with its Chief Global Market Strategist last week. According to Bloomberg, it seems he:
FINALLY: This Axios chart on 401(k) disparity is quite something to behold.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLLLoved to see the 34% optimism . . . but still a nice showing for the 26%. Er, the second 26%.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
While a full recovery to 2023 box office levels by end of year still seems like a hot take the actual Minions would have — progress is being made, folks! If you’re a paid subscriber, it’s time to dive into the numbers, including some very strong showings by younger demos (was TIKTOK down or something?), and a look at the path ahead to see about the odds of the momentum continuing onward this summer. 🥴 NOW: A couple things for the road — here are the new trailers from the weekend, as I always add in at the end of every Wakeup newsletter, plus a new tune as always to say farewell. See you Tuesday. 📽️ TRAILER HOUSEAPPLE / WB F1 teaser trailer — You know I’m a sucker for a direct title, well done APPLE marketing 👏 (and a long-lead marketing campaign). See ya next Summer. IN THEATERS JUNE 25, 2025  SONY / BLUM Afraid trailer — Fka They Listen, and I’m guessing #EvilAlexa at some point in its development. IN THEATERS AUGUST 30  🎧 PLAYING ME OFFNew Kelsea Ballerini & Noah Kahan, “Cowboys Cry Too”:  If you need some new tunes: Email me anytime at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com or connect here on LINKEDIN. — SEAN MCNULTY @theseanmac on TWITTER @TheWakeupNews on INSTAGRAM Follow us: X | Facebook | Instagram | Threads ICYMI
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