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| Welcome back! Hope all our US readers had a relaxing holiday. The divisiveness around streamers pulling shows and films from their catalog continues this week, with the news that Disney+ is dropping the coming-of-age sci-fi film "Crater," less than two months after its release. (The film stars Mckenna Grace and Kid Cudi, and centers on a group of kids living on a lunar colony in the future, who steal a rover and embark on an adventure of their own.) Obviously, the film was not being widely embraced by audiences, and most people probably didn't even know it was there, and so won't be able to miss it. Still, you have to wonder how movies are ever supposed to build word of mouth and find an audience if they only have limited marketing, and then just a few weeks to gain mass attention. Lots of movies we now think of as beloved classics -- from "The Big Lebowski" to "The Shawshank Redemption" to "Heathers" to "Office Space" -- were flops at first and had to build an audience over time. Will "Crater" ever have a chance to do that? OK, that's it from me. Enjoy today's issue! Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Just seven weeks after its Disney+ debut, the platform pulled the coming-of-age sci-fi film "Crater" from its library. The film premiered on May 12, and had a 64% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. More: - The film is set in the year 2257, and centers on a group of kids living in a lunar colony who leave their colony in a stolen rover to explore a mysterious crater.
- "13 Reasons Why" vet Kyle Patrick Alvarez directed; "From" creator John Griffin wrote the script.
- A few other titles were removed from Disney+ along with "Crater," but they were mostly international films or documentaries; the platform had a more significant purge back in May, when it dropped a number of original shows and films, including the "Willow" sequel series.
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Peacock Leads Among SVOD Ad Plans: New data from Antenna indicates that Peacock subscribers opt for an ad-supported plan more than their counterparts on any more subscription VOD service (SVOD). A full 58% of Peacock sign-ups go for the platform's lower-cost ad-supported tier. That's a considerable jump over the next-closest platform; just 43% of Discovery+ subscribers opt for an ad plan. Only around 1/3rd of Disney+ subscribers watch ads, and those numbers dip even further for Max and Disney. (Neither Amazon nor Apple offer ad-supported plans.) Ads Dominate on Peacock: IndieWire quotes a Peacock insider as stating that the "vast majority" of the streamer's 22 million paid subs, as of March of this year, go for the ad-supported "Premium" plan. The service also promotes this plan most heavily and describes it in marketing as its Most Popular. As well, ads have always been a part of the Peacock experience; a free version of the service was available after it first launched in April 2020, but was discontinued this year. And They're Getting More Popular in General: Overall, streaming viewers are far more accepting of ads today than they were even just three years ago. In 2020, 64% of US streaming subscribers said they avoided ad-supported plans whenever possible. Now, Antenna notes that 58% of US consumers opt to view streaming ads either some or all of the time, a considerable shift. | | | |
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, JULY 5 WHAM! Feature-length documentary profile of the '80s pop duo, which was founded by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley when they were still teenagers. The film features never-before-seen footage from Michael and Ridgeley's personal archives. "Tiger King" vet Chris Smith directs. [Netflix] BACK TO 15 (DE VOLTA AOS 15): Comedy-drama series from Brazil about an adult woman who finds a way to return to her life at age 15, and makes various efforts to alter her future. It's back for a second season. Maisa Silva, Klara Castanho, João Guilherme, and Amanda Azevedo co-star. [Netflix] MY HAPPY MARRIAGE (WATASHI NO SHIAWASE NA KEKKON): Romantic anime series based on the light novel by Akumi Agitogi and Tsukiho Tsukioka. The story centers on an abused young woman with psychic abilities who's married off to a mysterious military commander with a reputation for cruelty. [Netflix] KIZAZI MOTO: GENERATION FIRE: 10-part collection of animated sci-fi and fantasy shorts from African studios, including filmmakers from Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" director Peter Ramsey executive produced. [Disney+] KIYA & THE KIMOJA HEROES: Disney Junior animated series for preschoolers about a 7-year-old African girl with a passion for ballet and martial arts who transforms into a superhero with help from a magical headband. 5 new episodes from the show's first season hit Disney+ today. [Disney+] CMA FEST: 50 YEARS OF FAN FAIR: Documentary looking back on the history of Nashville's Fan Fair music festival (now CMA Fest) which commemorates its 50th anniversary in 2023. The film features memorable footage from the shows, along with artist interviews and other behind-the-scenes content. [Hulu] SHADOW DETECTIVE: Season 2 of the Korean crime drama series premieres on Hulu in the US today. Lee Sung Min stars as veteran homicide detective Kim Taek Rok, who returns to the field to track the mysterious blackmailer known as "Friend." [Hulu] NICK CANNON PRESENTS: WILD 'N OUT: The long-running unscripted comedy series features a variety of improv comedy games and sketches performed by a regular ensemble along with special celebrity guests. Nick Cannon and DJ D-Wrek co-host. Seasons 16 through 18 hit Paramount+ this week. [Paramount+] FACE'S MUSIC PARTY: Nickelodeon series for young kids, featuring the Nick Jr. mascot, Face (Cedric L. Williams), and guest stars from around the network introducing various musical clips and singalongs. The first season debuted last year on cable and hits Paramount+ today. [Paramount+] | | | |
| 4 | | Netflix's "Sex Education" will conclude after its upcoming fourth season. The UK coming-of-age comedy-drama returns to Netflix for its final run on September 21. More: - Asa Butterfield stars as teen Otis Milburn, who serves as an unofficial sex therapist for his fellow students at Moordale Secondary.
- Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Aimee-Lou Wood, Emma Mackey, and Connor Swindells co-star.
- Several series regulars had already indicated that Season 4 would be their last on the show, including Mackey (who co-stars in the summer film "Barbie") and Gatwa (who will take over as the next Doctor on "Doctor Who").
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| 5 | | From June 26-July 2, "Extraction 2" held on to the #1 spot as Netflix's most-popular streaming film for the third week in a row. The Chris Hemsworth action-thriller has 102.5 million views so far, picking up 17.5 million this past week. More: - "Views" are Netflix's latest metric, determined by dividing overall hours viewed by the film or show's total runtime.
- Romantic drama "The Perfect Find" -- starring Gabrielle Union and based on a novel by Tia Williams -- was in the #2 spot with 11 million views.
- Jennifer Lopez's action film "The Mother" is now #10 on Netflix's list of its all-time Most Popular Films, with 128.7 million views to date since May 12.
- Season 3 of "The Witcher" claimed the top spot for Netflix TV shows for the week, with 15.2 million views; the fantasy drama's first season also saw a boost, as viewers went back to catch up.
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| 6 | | In a new video, YouTube star Grace Helbig announced she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. Helbig told fans she'd been diagnosed with triple-positive breast tumors, and called the news "shocking" and "surreal." More: - Helbig assured supporters that she'd been told her tumors are "super treatable" and "highly beatable," adding "we're going for cure not remission here."
- She also encouraged fans and others to inspect their bodies for lumps and have any of them checked out by a doctor, if found.
- Helbig was an early breakout internet video star, hosting the webseries "Daily Grace" for My Damn Channel starting in 2008 and serving as a correspondent for G4's "Attack of the Show" in 2011.
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- HBO canceled the sports-themed chat series "Game Theory with Bomani Jones" after two seasons.
- As part of its annual Prime Day promotion, Amazon has lowered the price on the Fire TV Stick 4K Max to just $25; the regular Fire TV Stick 4K is also on sale.
- Pluto TV announced a new 24-hour streaming channel dedicated just to the "Godzilla" franchise.
- The Season 13 finale and reunion of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" was the Bravo reality franchise's second most-streamed episode in Peacock history; only the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" Season 15 premiere was viewed by more people, according to NBCUniversal's internal figures.
- The fourth season of "Star Trek: Enterprise" temporarily disappeared from Paramount+ before being restored; the streamer has not commented on what happened.
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INSIDE STREAMING LEADERBOARD (30 DAYS) |
 | Writer | | 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." | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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