ACORN TV
Programming from several countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand, and UK. AMC Networks chief Josh Sapan told The Hollywood Reporter that Acorn TV has "among the lowest churn" among major services owing to its focus as well as viewers' "dedication and affinity" for its content.

Dakota Johnson and Maude have your weekly date nights set for the next month through a weekly film series they’re putting on at the Ace Hotel in downtown L.A. Johnson’s TeaTime Pictures has partnered with the intimacy brand for what they’re calling “Cinemaude”: a month-long program of films that center around love and sex, ranging from coming-of-age classics to less conventional depictions of love through old age. The screenings will take place every Thursday through the month of August, at The Theatre at DTLA’s Ace Hotel. Tickets are currently available on the Ace Hotel website for $20...

The Sundance Institute, the organization behind the yearly film festival in Park City, has partnered with the Asian American Foundation to create a fellowship and scholarship, which will be granted to 12 recipients a year. The goal, the groups say, is to provide Asian American and Pacific Islander artists with creative and tactical support to develop their professional skills, as well as improve AAPI representation in film and television industries. The fellowship will offer six AAPI artists per year a 12-month learning experience to advance their professional development in the arts. Through the fellowship, each person will receive a $20,000 unrestricted grant to support their individual projects, as well as customized support from the Sundance Institute based on their goals...

Netflix’s top executive team in Africa plans to continue spending on scripted and unscripted content across genres until it unearths the big “Squid Game”-like show that captures global buzz. During Tuesday’s “See What’s Next Africa” showcase in Johannesburg, South Africa, the streamer unveiled several African original renewals, some co-production developments, more details around existing projects, and another multi-project output deal with the South Africa filmmaker Mandlakayise Walter Dube for films and series. Under the partnership, Dube — who directed Netflix’s first commissioned African film “Silverton Siege,” released earlier this year — will direct a variety of Netflix-owned projects. He joins Nigeria’s Junle Afolayan of Kunle Afolayan Productions and Mo Abudu of EbonyLife Studios who have similar output deals with the streamer already. Netflix said it plans to line up further output deals with more African filmmakers...

Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav confirmed that the studio will focus entirely on releasing movies in theaters rather than on HBO Max. Once they have a significant theatrical run, their movies will go to Premium Video on Demand before eventually heading to streaming."In theaters, the value of the content and the overall viewing experience is elevated," said Zaslav. "When the same content moves to PVOD, and then streaming is elevated again. As films move from one window to the next, their overall value is elevated."...

AMC is the largest theater chain in the U.S. by far, with around 946 theaters and 10,562 screens to its name. That metric alone gives the chain an edge in the game as they have more locations for moviegoers to access. But that also means more rent to be paid and more useless real estate to deal with during the shutdown of 2020. AMC suffered huge losses during the pandemic, and its debt load suffered as well. The company nearly went bankrupt and, as it stands, they have a debt load of around $5.5 billion. The good news, though, is AMC is trying to climb out of the hole. The company recently purchased $72.5 million of its debt for a discounted $50 million, which will save on interest costs. It's like throwing a stone at a giant, but it's progress nevertheless...