VOD spending trends / "Firestarter" to Peacock / HBO grabs "Doomsday Machine" / Starz "Shining Vale" trailer

Plus today's calendar, "Reno 911! Defunded" on Roku, "Conversations with Friends" teaser, Larson and Renner D+ shows, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network February 09, 2022

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"Yellowstone" According to the media industry's Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), overall consumer spending on home entertainment was up 8% in 2021, hitting around $32.3 billion. Traditional video-on-demand (VOD) rentals and subscriptions were up 15% to $8 billion, not counting so-called "Premium VOD" or Disney+ "Premier Access" rentals. More: By Disney's own metrics, the studio brought in around $933 million from Premier Access rentals in 2021 -- including pay-per-view events such as UFC fights -- in addition to theatrical grosses. The Paramount Network smash hit "Yellowstone" was responsible for a significant chunk of TV-related VOD rentals, particularly in the fourth quarter of 2021. According to a previous DEG report, about 80% of total home entertainment spending now goes to streaming. DEADLINE

The Blumhouse horror film "Firestarter" will premiere both in theaters and on Peacock on May 13. No other Hollywood films are currently scheduled for release on May 13, the weekend after Marvel and Disney's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" hits theaters. More: "Firestarter" -- based on the novel by Stephen King -- stars newcomer Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Charlie, a young girl with the supernatural ability to create and channel fire; Zack Efron and Sydney Lemmon co-star as Charlie's parents, who take her on the run to protect her from a shadowy federal agency. This is the fourth Universal Pictures release to stream day-and-date on Peacock; the list also includes "The Boss Baby: Family Business," "Halloween Kills," and this weekend's Jennifer Lopez rom-com "Marry Me." An additional film -- the Focus Features Sundance acquisition "Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul." -- will likely also bow both in theaters and on Peacock, but no release date has yet been set. DEADLINE

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DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9 SPENCER: 2021 historical drama feature starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, set during the Christmas holiday in 1991, as she contemplates ending her marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing). Pablo Larraín ("Jackie") directed; Steven Knight ("Dirty Pretty Things") wrote the script. Stewart has been Oscar-nominated for her lead performance. [Hulu] FLEE: Animated docudrama feature from Denmark based on the life of Amin Nawabi, a child refugee from Afghanistan who confronts a painful secret from his past before marrying his boyfriend. The film has been nominated for 3 Oscars, including Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best International Feature. [Hulu] DISENCHANTMENT: The animated fantasy-comedy series from "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening is back with a new batch of episodes that Netflix is calling "Part 4." Abbi Jacobson voices Bean, the newly-crowned Queen of Dreamland; the voice cast also includes Eric André, Nat Faxon, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNielle, and Matt Berry. [Netflix] CATCHING KILLERS: True-crime docuseries recounting the hunts for infamous serial killers, featuring interviews with the real officers who conducted the investigations. It's back for a second season. [Netflix] ONLY JOKES ALLOWED: Stand-up comedy showcase from South Africa, featuring brief sets from comedians Gilli Apter, Schalk Bezuidenhout, Robby Collins, Nina Hastie, Mpho Modikoane, and Celeste Ntuli. [Netflix] THE PRIVILEGE (DAS PRIVILEG – DIE AUSERWÄHLTEN): 2022 mystery drama feature from Germany about a group of wealthy and privileged students who uncover a dark conspiracy at their elite boarding school. [Netflix] THE BIG SHOT GAME SHOW (IDEIAS À VENDA): Brazilian reality competition series in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to both a studio audience and a panel of celebrity judges. Eliana hosts; the judges include Luana Génot. [Netflix] MARVEL STUDIOS: ASSEMBLED – THE MAKING OF HAWKEYE: The latest edition of Disney's "Assembled" behind-the-scenes docuseries examines the makings of the MCU spin-off show "Hawkeye," and features interviews with producer Kevin Feige, showrunner Jonathan Igla, cast members Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and others. [Disney+] ALICE'S WONDERLAND BAKERY: Animated series for young kids, loosely inspired by Disney's adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland." Libby Rue voices a young baker who's a descendant of Lewis Carroll's original Alice; guest voices include Craig Ferguson, Vanessa Bayer, Donald Faison, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Ana Gasteyer. Season 1 debuts on Disney+ today. [Disney+] SNOWDROP: Debut period comedy-drama series from Korea, which is streaming exclusively on Disney+ in the US. It's about the romance between a university student (K-pop star Jisoo) and a mysterious young man in trouble (Jung Hae-in) whom she agrees to hide in her dorm room. The series is set in 1987, against the backdrop of the mass protest movement that ultimately led to the establishment of Korea's democratic Sixth Republic. [Disney+] SMILING FRIENDS: Adult animated comedy series from Adult Swim about two staffers from a small charity that aims to spread joy and happiness in the world. Co-creators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack write and direct the series, and provide most of the voices themselves. Season 2 hits HBO Max today. [HBO Max]

HBO picked up the series "Doomsday Machine," based on the bestselling book "An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination" by Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang. Claire Foy is set to star in the series as Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. More: The series follows Sandberg and Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg as they grow the social network while navigating various political and social controversies and obstacles. Playwright and novelist Ayad Akhtar ("The War Within") created the series and will executive produce; Andrew Marantz of the New Yorker will consult on the project. VARIETY

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"Shining Vale" NEW TRAILER RENO 911! DEFUNDED: The mockumentary series -- parodying law enforcement reality shows like "Cops" -- returns to Roku Channel for a new season of full-length episodes. Regulars Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Niecy Nash, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Carlos Alazraqui, Cedric Yarbrough, Ian Roberts, Joe Lo Truglio, and Mary Birdsong all return for the new season; guest stars include "Weird Al" Yankovic, Jamie Lee Curtis, and George Lopez. It debuts on February 25. [Roku] MY BRILLIANT FRIEND: The Italian period drama series returns for a third season on February 28. The new episodes are based on the third book in Elena Ferrante's Naples collection, "Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay," and find Lila (Gaia Gerace) working in a factory under harsh conditions, while Elena (Margherita Mazzucco) enters literary society after publishing a successful novel. [HBO Max] SHINING VALE: Debut horror-comedy series starring Courteney Cox as a depressed author who forms a strange bond with the ghost (Mira Sorvino) living in her new home, a spooky Victorian mansion in Connecticut. Greg Kinnear, Sherilyn Fenn, Merrin Dungey, Gus Birney, and Dylan Gage co-star. The series arrives on March 6. [Starz] CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS: Limited series from Hulu and BBC Three, based on the novel by Sally Rooney (whose work also inspired the hit series "Normal People"). The series centers around a group of four friends whose love lives become intertwined in increasingly complex ways. Alison Oliver, Sasha Lane, Jemima Kirke, and Joe Alwyn co-star. "Normal People" vets Alice Birch and Lenny Abrahamson reunited to write and direct the new series, respectively. It arrives in May. [Hulu]

Disney+ announced two new unscripted shows from Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) stars Jeremy Renner and Brie Larson. The new series were unveiled during a presentation to the Television Critics Association (TCA). More: The docuseries "Growing Up" will consist of 10 different coming-of-age narratives -- centering around subjects between the ages of 18 and 22 -- from different directors; Larson will produce the series and direct one of the episodes. Renner's four-part series, "Rennervations," will find the actor using his skills and experience fabricating "unique purpose-built vehicles" to help out and inspire deserving communities. Disney+ also unveiled a few new scripted projects, including the Halloween sequel "Under Wraps 2," an animated adaptation of the Judy Blume book "Superfudge," and a live-action fantasy series from producer Eva Longoria called "Paola Santiago and the River of Tears." VARIETY

"Book of Love" BuzzFeed Studios -- which has been slow to produce content since its launch as BuzzFeed Motion Pictures in 2014 -- will release five films this year. The company's first BuzzFeed Studios-branded project -- the romantic comedy "Book of Love" -- hit Amazon Prime Video on February 4. More: A number of widely-discussed BuzzFeed projects -- including the Jim Parsons film "Brother Orange" and the short-form TV series "Follow This" -- have either failed to materialize entirely or fizzled upon release. BuzzFeed merged its own production division with Complex Networks' studio division following a merger last summer. BuzzFeed Studios chooses projects, in part, based on audience data from its website and social media accounts; the company also promotes its upcoming films via listicles, quizzes, and other shareable content. Remaining 2022 BuzzFeed films include the rom-com "My Fake Boyfriend," the e-sports comedy "1Up," the Juneteenth-themed family comedy "Block Party," and the supernatural thriller "Dear David." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

QUICK HITS 3D is the future of online shopping. With unlimited3D.com from Threedium, you can publish and share 3D & AR to the web with ease.* HBO renewed the unconventional comedy series "How to With John Wilson" for a third season. Steven Spielberg's Oscar-nominated remake of the classic musical "West Side Story" will debut on both Disney+ and HBO Max in the US (along with many other countries and territories) on March 2. Moonbug Entertainment -- the owners of the wildly popular online kids' brands Cocomelon and Blippi -- acquired the "Little Angel" YouTube channel, which comes with 88 million subscribers. The Hulu coming-of-age comedy series "Love, Victor" will come to a close after its third season, arriving in June. CBS ordered a pilot for a gender-swapped revival of the '90s fantasy-drama series "Early Edition." Fox Entertainment acquired Gumby and his extended franchise of stop-motion animated characters from the estate of Joseph Clokey, the son of original creator Art Clokey; the studio is planning new live-action and animated Gumby content for a variety of platforms, and will also stream classic "Gumby" episodes on Tubi. ABC is developing a spin-off series based on the police procedural "The Rookie," which will be set within the FBI and star Niecy Nash. Netflix grabbed the 8-part series "Palomino" from Left Bank Pictures, which produces "The Crown"; the show centers on a British teacher who becomes entangled in a criminal conspiracy while visiting Spain. A number of actors signed on for the "John Wick" three-part prequel series "The Continental," including Katie McGrath, Ray McKinnon, Adam Shapiro, Mark Musashi, and Marina Mazepa. Amazon signed a multi-million pound deal to take over facilities at England's Shepperton Studios, securing more than 450,000 square feet of production space; Netflix also rents out space at Shepperton. Disney+ streamed Tuesday's Academy Award nominations announcement live as a test, and reported to The Verge that executives were "pleased with the results." 20th Television will develop a series adaptation of the upcoming Steve Almond novel "All the Secrets of the World," with Jon Feldman ("Designated Survivor") as showrunner; the book chronicles an eventful friendship that forms between two girls at a Sacramento science fair in 1981. IMDb TV renewed the drama series "Almost Paradise" -- starring Christian Kane as a former DEA agent who retires to a small island in The Philippines -- for a second season. The Hollywood Reporter published an Oral History of the classic "Simpsons" episode introducing Poochie to the "The Itchy & Scratchy Show," in honor of its 25th anniversary. If you think time in the market outweighs timing the market, this finance app is for you.* *This is sponsored content

Lon Harris is the writer and editor of Inside Streaming and was the very first person to ever write an Inside newsletter. He lives in Los Angeles, California, and also writes about TV and film for Fandom, Screen Junkies, Rotten Tomatoes, Gamma Ray and others. Plus he has a Game of Thrones podcast called "Casterly Talk" and competes on The Movie Trivia Schmoedown as "The Professor." Editor Jonathan Harris is a writer for Inside.com. Previously, he wrote for The Huffington Post, TakePart.com, and the YouTube channel What’s Trending.

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