HBO Max and Discovery+ bundle / AMC hits 10.8M subs / Starz sale or spinoff update / WGA "Bird Box" ruling

Plus the weekend calendar, Sy joins "The Killer," "The Stranger" to Netflix, "Beavis and Butt-head" on YouTube, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network August 05, 2022

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"The Flash" A combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming service will apparently hit the US market in summer 2023. WB Discovery CEO and President of global streaming and games JB Perrette made the announcement during the company's first post-merger earnings call on Thursday. More: Perrette also suggested that the combined service will have a free, ad-supported option, but provided no further release or pricing details. The combined HBO Max/Discovery+ service will then roll out internationally over the rest of 2023 and 2024. Total streaming subscribers across the HBO Max, HBO, and Discovery+ services hit 92.1 million in Q2, up 1.7 million from the prior quarter.  Streaming losses hit $518 million, and are expected to peak this year; WBD's $9.8 billion in revenue fell short of Wall Street's $11.8 billion expectations. A slide shown during CEO David Zaslav's conversation with investors -- differentiating HBO Max as "male skew" and "home to fandoms" while Discovery+ was "female skew" and "home to genredoms" -- went viral and was widely mocked on social media. Zaslav discussed the company's decision to shelve "Batgirl," suggesting that it was unreleasable in its current state but too niche to expand for theaters; he said WBD will focus on theatrical films, as "we believe it creates interest and demand." Though a number of DC Comics-related projects have been similarly delayed or put on hold, Zaslav suggested that "The Flash," "Black Adam," and "Shazam 2" are all moving forward as planned. VARIETY

"Better Call Saul" AMC Networks hit 10.8 million subscribers in Q2, up 7.4 million from the previous quarter. The increase was largely due to the launch of the AMC+ streaming bundle in Spain.  More: As of now, the company appears on track to hit its goal of 20-25 million subscribers by 2025. AMC Networks owns the niche services AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, and HiDive, as well as the cable networks AMC, BBC America, IFC, Sundance TV, WE tv, plus AMC Studios and IFC Films. Streaming growth exceeded expectations but total revenues fell 4% to $738 million. AMC shows received 12 Emmy nominations this year, including seven for "Better Call Saul." DEADLINE

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WEEKEND CALENDAR FRIDAY, AUGUST 5 PREY: Action sci-fi film from director Dan Trachtenberg ("10 Cloverfield Lane"), serving as a prequel to the "Predator" franchise. Amber Midthunder stars as a warrior in the 18th Century Comanche Nation who defends her tribe against a technologically-advanced alien that's hunting them for sport. [Hulu] LUCK: The first feature film from newly-formed Skydance Animation centers on Sam (Eva Noblezada), the unluckiest girl in the world, who ventures to the magical Land of Luck in hopes of turning her fortunes around. The voice cast also includes Simon Pegg, Jane Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg, and Lil Rel Howery. Peggy Holmes ("The Pirate Fairy") directed; Pixar vet John Lasseter produced. [Apple TV+] THE SANDMAN: Debut fantasy drama series, based on the DC comic books by Neil Gaiman (who also developed and executive produced the show). Tom Sturridge stars as Morpheus, the supernatural "King of Dreams" who returns after being held captive for 106 years and attempts to restore his kingdom. Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste co-star. [Netflix] RISE OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE MOVIE: Animated superhero comedy film based on Nickelodeon's "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" series. 2 years after the Turtles' defeat of Shredder, they encounter a new foe: the alien Krang. The voice cast includes Ben Schwartz, Omar Benson Miller, Brandon Mychal Smith, and Josh Brener. [Netflix] CARTER: Action thriller film from Korea, starring Joo Won as an operative who awakens in the middle of an international crisis with no memories, a mysterious device inside his head, a lethal bomb in his mouth, and a voice in his ear providing him with instructions. Lee Sung-jae, Jeong So-ri, and Jung Jae-young co-star; Jung Byung-gil ("The Villainess") directed. [Netflix] DARLINGS: Hindi-language dark comedy-drama feature from India, about a mother (Shefali Shah) and daughter (Alia Bhatt) in Mumbai who join forces to get revenge on their drunk, volatile husband and father (Vijay Varma). Jasmeet K. Reen ("Force 2") co-wrote the script and directed. [Netflix] LOCKDOWN: English-language thriller film from Nigerian writer/director Moses Inwang ("Alter Ego"), centering on six people who find themselves trapped together inside a hospital after the government declares an emergency quarantine. [Netflix] NAIROBBY: 2021 crime drama film from Kenya -- produced in a mix of English, Swahili, and Sheng -- about six university students who go on the run after pulling off a daring heist, and find their relationships tested along the way. Jennifer Gatero directed. [Netflix] THIRTEEN LIVES: Survival drama from director Ron Howard based on the real-life 2018 Tham Luang rescue, in which volunteers helped to save a boys soccer team and their coach from a flooding network of caves in Thailand. The cast includes Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, Sukollawat Kanarot, and Thiraphat Sajakul. [Amazon] THE OUTLAWS: The BBC crime comedy series centers around seven strangers who discover a bag full of money while performing mandatory community service together. Stephen Merchant co-created the series with Elgin James and stars; the cast also includes Christopher Walken, Rhianne Barreto, Gamba Cole, and Darren Boyd. Season 2 comes to Prime Video in the US today. [Amazon] LICORICE PIZZA: 2021 comedy-drama from writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson ("Phantom Thread"), about the friendship and awkward romance between an entrepreneurial teen (Cooper Hoffman) and an aimless twenty-something (Alana Haim) in the '70s San Fernando Valley. Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, and Benny Safdie co-star. The film was nominated for three Oscars this year, including Best Picture. [Amazon] THEY/THEM: Veteran screenwriter John Logan ("Gladiator") makes his directorial debut with this Blumhouse slasher horror film, set at a gay conversion camp where the LGBTQ teens are being stalked and killed one by one. Kevin Bacon, Carrie Preston, Anna Chlumsky, Theo Germaine, Quei Tann, and Anna Lore co-star. [Peacock] INDYCAR: MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX: Peacock will stream NBC Sports' coverage of this weekend's IndyCar race in Nashville, starting with Practice 1 on Friday at 4:15 pm ET. The final race streams on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 pm ET.  LEGO STAR WARS SUMMER VACATION: Animated "Star Wars" comedy special -- set after the events of "The Rise of Skywalker" -- in which Finn arranges a relaxing vacation for his friends on board the Halcyon luxury liner, only to have his plans go horribly awry. The voice cast includes Yvette Nicole Brown, Kelly Marie Tran, Billy Dee Williams, Ross Marquand, Anthony Daniels, Shelby Young, and Weird Al Yankovic. [Disney+] RECIPE LOST AND FOUND: Debut reality series from Magnolia Network, in which chef and "culinary anthropologist" Casey Corn helps everyday people rediscover and reconnect with their long-lost family recipes. [Discovery+] STOWAWAY: Survival thriller film starring Ruby Rose as a troubled party girl who finds herself trapped on the high seas after her luxury yacht is commandeered by a group of thieves. Frank Grillo, Emma Maddock, and Patrick Schwarzenegger co-star. [AMC+] BELFAST: Black-and-white British period coming-of-age drama from writer/director Kenneth Branagh, inspired by his own childhood in Northern Ireland. Jude Hill stars as a nine-year-old from a working-class Ulster Protestant family during the early years of "The Troubles." Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, and Ciarán Hinds co-star. The film was nominated for 7 Oscars earlier this year, and won for Branagh's original screenplay. [HBO Max] JESUS SEPULVEDA: MR. TOUGH LIFE: The Los Angeles comic's first solo special was shot at New York's Chelsea Music Hall, and features material about growing up with a tough dad, going to therapy, and why Latinos love to party. The special is part of HBO's "Entre Nos" Latino comedy franchise. [HBO Max] SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 THE ART OF VINTAGE: The Magnolia Network reality series centers on vintage dealer and designer Katie Saro, and follows along as she remodels and redesigns her own home while also working with clients. [Discovery+] CAPTURING HOME: In this home renovation reality series, also from Magnolia, designers Amy and Kate speak with homeowners about their personal stories and relationships, then use those conversations as inspiration to create custom, one-of-a-kind living spaces. [Discovery+] KILLER CAMP: The reality competition series returned to CW on Friday night for a third season; new episodes hit the app and website on Saturdays. Contestants are dropped into an '80s slasher movie-inspired summer camp, and must identify the "secret murderer" within their ranks. [CW] PREMIER LEAGUE: This weekend's matches include Bournemouth v. Aston Villa; Leeds United v. Wolves; Tottenham v. Southampton; Leicester City v. Brentford; and Man United v. Brighton. The full schedule is available to browse on Peacock. [Peacock] BREEDERS' CUP CHALLENGE: The 2022 Whitney Stakes streams live from the Saratoga Race Course on Peacock this Saturday, starting at 5 pm ET. [Peacock] IMSA: ROAD AMERICA: Many of the top events from IMSA Fastland SportsCar Weekend will stream starting Saturday on Peacock from Road America in Plymouth, Wisconsin. The races feature elite sportscars from nearly 20 manufacturers. [Peacock] RECLAIM: This Taiwanese drama is the directorial debut of CJ Wang. Nina Paw stars as a busy and put-upon art teacher and mother who rediscovers her sense of voice and self-worth while searching for a new home for her family. [Netflix] SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 MENENDEZ BROTHERS: MISJUDGED?: Documentary from Investigation Discovery (ID) re-examining the case of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who killed their parents in their Beverly Hills home in 1989, and later claimed they'd suffered a lifetime of emotional, sexual, and physical abuse. The brothers were convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1996, but have found new popularity on the social app TikTok. [Discovery+] CONTRAPTION MASTERS: Debut engineering competition series in which teams of builders must design excessively elaborate machines in order to accomplish simple, everyday tasks. Richard Hammond hosts. [Discovery+] THE SMILING FRIENDS GO TO BRAZIL: Animated comedy special, spun off from the Adult Swim series "The Smiling Friends," and featuring regular characters Pim, Charlie, Alan, and Glep on a trip to South America. [HBO Max] MY LIFE AS A ROLLING STONE: Four-part docuseries from the UK commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Rolling Stones, with one episode each dedicated to band members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and the late Charlie Watts. Oliver Murray ("Bill Wyman: The Quiet One") directed; Sienna Miller narrates. [Epix] RIVERDALE: Season 6 of the teen drama series aired earlier this year on CW and comes to Netflix in its entirety today. The season opened with the five-part event "Rivervale," featuring Kiernan Shipka reprising her role as Sabrina Spellman from Netflix's "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina." [Netflix] MLB SUNDAY LEADOFF: This week's match-up finds the Houston Astros taking on the Cleveland Guardians. The broadcast starts at 11:30 am ET on Peacock. [Peacock]

Starz hit 26.3 million global subscribers in Q2 2022, an increase of 57% year-over-year. Parent company Lionsgate is currently considering a sale or spinoff of the premium cable network and streaming service. More: Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer told analysts that "in terms of our strategic initiatives, we are proceeding nicely," and suggested a deal could be announced as early as the end of this fiscal year. Lionsgate acquired Starz for $4.4 billion in 2016. The company's overall revenue for the quarter hit $893.9 million, down from $901.2 million in Q1. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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A case against the 2018 film "Bird Box," pursued by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), resulted in Netflix paying out $42 million in new residuals. A third-party arbitrator ruled that Netflix had underpaid screenwriter Eric Heisserer for his work on "Bird Box," awarding him $850,000 in residuals and $350,000 in interest. More: As a direct result of the "Bird Box" ruling, 216 writers on 139 other Netflix theatrical films were awarded additional residuals for their work. The Guild is still pursuing $13.5 million in interest that it claims Netflix owes writers in connection with these delayed payments. The dispute originated with Netflix's 2016 decision to produce its own films, in-house, rather than relying on third-party production companies; the streamer negotiated residuals at a rate lower than the actual production costs of the films. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"Lupin" vet Omar Sy signed on for the lead role in John Woo's remake of his own 1989 crime drama "The Killer." Woo's film is one of three originals from Universal set to debut on Peacock in 2023. More: "10 Cloverfield Lane" vets Matthew Stuecken and Josh Campbell wrote the new script along with Eran Creevy ("Welcome to the Punch") and Brian Helgeland ("Legend"). The original film starred Chow Yun-fat as a disillusioned assassin who accepts one last assignment in the hopes of raising money for a woman he accidentally blinded (Sally Yeh). French crime drama "Lupin" ranks among Netflix's most popular international series; production is underway on a third collection of episodes. DEADLINE

Netflix grabbed the global streaming rights to the Australian thriller "The Stranger." The film premiered this year at Cannes, and also screens this week at the Melbourne International Film Festival. More: Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris co-star as two strangers who strike up a conversation during a long trip, only to find they're both connected to the same unsolved missing person's case. Edgerton also produced through his company, Blue Tongue Films. Thomas M. Wright wrote and directed; he's best known as an actor, and appeared in the series "Outsiders" and "Top of the Lake." DEADLINE

QUICK HITS 2022 Capital Gains of $250K+ ? Reinvest them and unlock attractive tax incentives like tax deferral. Learn How - Grab This No-Cost Investor Guide.* Paramount+ released the first episode of the revival series "Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-head" for free on YouTube. Hulu released a trailer for the YA drama series "Tell Me Lies," based on the novel by Carola Lovering; it follows a tumultuous relationship over the course of eight years, and arrives on September 7. In an interview with The Daily Beast, "First Kill" showrunner Felicia Henderson shared her thoughts on the show's cancelation by Netflix, arguing that the streamer's marketing campaign focused excessively on the lesbian romance angle and potentially limited its reach. Paramount+'s revival of the tattoo-themed reality competition series "Ink Master" debuts on September 7; former host Dave Navarro returns as "Master of Chaos" alongside new host Joel Madden and judges Ryan Ashley, Nikko Hurtado, and Ami James. FXX dropped a trailer for Season 13 of the animated spy comedy series "Archer"; the new season kicks off on August 24 on cable, with new episodes heading to Hulu the day after their TV debut. Realtors and consultants Nicole Young and Bre Tiesi will join the cast of Netflix's reality series "Selling Sunset" for its upcoming sixth and seventh seasons. ABC posted a trailer for the upcoming third season of the procedural drama series "Big Sky," subtitled "Deadly Trails"; Reba McEntire joins as a new series regular this year. During a panel at the Television Critics Association (TCA) winter press tour, creator Stever Levitan ("Modern Family") and star Paul Reiser previewed their new comedy series "Reboot," and how it will confront "cancel culture" in Hollywood writers rooms. Neither the Pixar film "Lightyear" nor the studio's series "Baymax" will stream on Disney+ in the Middle East, as both contain LGBTQ characters and thus fail to follow local kids programming content guidelines. Amazon announced a major marketing push in Nigeria, along with a new line-up of Nigerian original films and shows for Prime Video, including the action crime thriller "Gangs of Lagos" and the unscripted comedy series "LOL: Last One Laughing Naijia." Get a FREE Trial Pack of Super Coffee's NEW Tasty Pastry flavors that contain 0g of sugar, 10g of protein, and 200mg of caffeine. Just cover shipping!* *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 Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade.

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