Pat “The B.O. Boys podcast” Stango

A reminder of what followed Disney’s acquisition of Fox: • Thousands of jobs were eliminated • Fox 2000 was shuttered • Blue Sky Studios was closed • Competing development teams were consolidated • Projects were cancelled or placed into turnaround • Fewer films received theatrical releases • Theaters lost a major supplier of annual product • Filmmakers lost a major buyer for their work • Disney controlled roughly one-third of the 2019 domestic box office Before Disney, Fox, Fox 2000 and Searchlight collectively averaged more than 20 theatrical releases annually. In recent years, 20th Century and Searchlight have released fewer than half that number. Disney bought a competitor. Hollywood lost one. And will never fully get it back. Remember that in three years. That is the precedent everyone should remember before allowing Paramount to absorb Warner Bros. Resist.

Sing, my Muse, of the film that refused to surrender. Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY had already survived an R rating, a three-hour runtime and the loss of hundreds of theaters and premium screens. It was 48 days into its domestic voyage, playing in roughly 1,000 fewer locations than the biggest film of the year. Across the multiplex aisle stood SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, a $2B+ colossus that has ruled the daily box office for more than a month. Yet last night, against all odds, Odysseus reclaimed the box office throne. Yes folks, THE ODYSSEY ($1.8M) finally toppled SPIDER-MAN ($1.7M).